# Who is our "Opposite Sean Bean", someone who has a lot of film appearances and never dies? (spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth, movies\ **Created:** [March 29, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855 "2026-03-29T00:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/1 "2026-03-29T00:55:57Z")
Sean Bean is pretty famous for dying in a ton of movies, including many very interesting deaths, like his satellite death in James Bond and his Boromir death in Lord of the Rings. What actor has a lot of appearances, but either never or hardly ever dies? I was thinking of Tom Cruise, who dies in Collateral. I’m not sure what else he has died in, but he has a lot of credits. No surprise, Collateral is also one of the few films he is the bad guy in, though he is a villain in Tropic Thunder and lives through that. Bill Murray rarely dies in movies, does he? He died in Zombieland, though. Anything else? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/2 "2026-03-29T00:56:40Z")
Tom Hanks. I’m sure that he has died in some of his films, but he’s frequently the hero/protagonist, and makes it to the end. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/3 "2026-03-29T00:57:52Z")
Hmmm. Road to Perdition Saving Private Ryan I think…Philadelphia? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/4 "2026-03-29T00:59:18Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Road to Perdition > > Saving Private Ryan > > I think…Philadelphia? Yup, and those were prominent deaths. But just as Sean Bean’s characters don’t _always_ die, Hanks’ characters usually, but don’t always, live. 🙂 As you noted in your OP, “either never or hardly ever dies?” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/5 "2026-03-29T01:03:01Z")
Cate Blanchett? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/6 "2026-03-29T01:10:26Z")
I can’t think of a movie where Jackie Chan died. Eric Roberts has over 900 credits somehow and almost never dies. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/7 "2026-03-29T01:14:36Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Eric Roberts has over 900 credits somehow and almost never dies. I would disqualify him. Despite 900 appearances, he is not really in many of those films for more than a second. Sometimes, it’s just off-screen audio prerecorded. Jackie Chan is a good one. He might be the winner for real, proper roles and almost no deaths. Harrison Ford died in What Lies Beneath. Oh, and The Force Awakens. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/8 "2026-03-29T01:18:10Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I can’t think of a movie where Jackie Chan died. I agree. I can’t think of any movie where Jackie Chan died. (came here to say this but typically, for me, not fast enough 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/9 "2026-03-29T01:20:33Z")
That fair on Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/10 "2026-03-29T01:25:16Z")
I think we need a stricter standard for the anti-Bean than for the Bean, because most characters, in most movies, don’t die. Especially if you have an actor who specializes in a nonviolent genre like romcoms, or the like. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/11 "2026-03-29T01:25:53Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Bill Murray rarely dies in movies, does he? He died in Zombieland, though. Anything else? Groundhog Day. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/12 "2026-03-29T01:28:38Z")
We could say James Bond. Although he did die once. But he was played by many different actors over the years. Does that plug in here somehow? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/13 "2026-03-29T01:29:22Z")
Over and over again. And Tom Cruise dead in the Anne Rice movie. Interview with a Vampire. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/14 "2026-03-29T01:31:03Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Groundhog Day. Died a lot. We see 38 days in the movie but it has been suggested he was stuck in there for 30 - 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/15 "2026-03-29T01:51:56Z")
Tom Cruise dies rather a lot in _Edge of Tomorrow_. Though that is a Groundhog Day premise. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/16 "2026-03-29T02:03:27Z")
John Wayne died twice on screen out of more than 100 movies. Sean Bean was ripped apart by horses in **Black Death** but the plague was just hours away regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/17 "2026-03-29T02:05:35Z")
Steven Seagal I think. In a lot of his movies the bad guys hardly even hit him. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/18 "2026-03-29T02:06:05Z")
Are we going old school? Cary Grant may not have died on screen at all. I assumed we were going with current actors ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/19 "2026-03-29T02:16:39Z")
I haven’t seen all of his work but has Dwayne Johnson ever died in a movie? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2026, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/20 "2026-03-29T02:18:00Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I can’t think of a movie where Jackie Chan died Enter The Dragon? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855.md?page=2)