# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/81 "2026-03-30T18:14:31Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Surprisingly, I think **Peter Lorre** qualifies. He dies pretty famously in **Casablanca** and in the less famous **Mad Love** , but I think he lives in every other movie he’s in, even the Roger Corman ones. Mr. Lorre’s screen deaths include (but are not necessarily limited to): _The Man Who Knew Too Much_ (1934) _Island of Doomed Men_ (1940) _The Face Behind the Mask_ (1941) _The Cross of Lorraine_ (1943) _Confidential Agent_ (1945) _The Chase_ (1946) _Der Verlorene_ (1951) I was gonna say Gene Kelly, but he dies in _Les Girls_ (1957) and (I think) in _What a Way to Go_ (1964), among possible others. Pretty sure Fred Astaire died once or twice late in his career as well. Deanna Durbin or Sonja Henie are probably good bets for this, though both may fall short of “has a lot of film appearances” criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/82 "2026-03-30T18:21:04Z")
I don’t think a studio ever had the balls to kill a Shirley Temple character. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/83 "2026-03-30T20:19:32Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Kevin Bacon **Wild Things** ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/84 "2026-03-30T20:21:55Z")
Really intense movie that doesn’t get discussed enough. Hard to watch, though. ---
**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 30, 2026, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/85 "2026-03-30T21:32:39Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > **Wild Things** And others. I mean, his first big role was Friday the 13th and he dies pretty quickly in that. Arrow through the throat, I think? ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/86 "2026-03-30T21:37:14Z")
Agreed-and a fantastic cast. ---
**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 30, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/87 "2026-03-30T22:03:02Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Pierce Brosnan? I can’t think of him dying in a single film. The Fourth Protocol had him second-billed to Michael Caine, with Brosnan as the secret agent who, uh, pretty much succeeds at every covert-ops task he’s been assigned, almost like he’s James Bond or something; the problem is, he wasn’t told that it’s a suicide mission… ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/88 "2026-03-30T22:26:50Z")
Surprised nobody has answered this correctly yet. The actor who has appeared opposite Sean Bean for a lot of appearances and never died is Daragh O’Malley. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/89 "2026-03-30T23:11:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > He reportedly insists on a clause in his contract that his character is never allowed to lose a fight, so probably not. He lost one in _Smashing Machine_, but it was a biopic. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/90 "2026-03-30T23:57:46Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > > [@cormac262](#): > > > > **Wild Things** > > And others. I mean, his first big role was Friday the 13th and he dies pretty quickly in that. Arrow through the throat, I think? Ok, but hear me out… contrast that with _the entire **Sharpe’s** series_. The man (Bean) literally survives the Napoleonic Wars, from the Peninsular Campaign to freaking _Waterloo_ (and apparently also post-war service in India!). So clearly some substantial exceptions to the death/survival rule are permitted? ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/91 "2026-03-31T06:05:17Z")
> [@troub](#): > > So would a real anti-Sean-Bean then need to have a film or show where they’re “supposed” to be killed right away but then end up unexpectedly being the lead? Ironically…. although not the ‘lead’, Sean is ‘killed’ off at the start of _Goldeneye,_ then pops up again half way through the film ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/92 "2026-03-31T13:36:30Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > the problem is, he wasn’t told that it’s a suicide mission… Oops!! 😳 Did I inadvertently leave that out of the briefing?! 😈 ---
**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 31, 2026, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/93 "2026-03-31T14:13:12Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Ironically…. although not the ‘lead’, Sean is ‘killed’ off at the start of _Goldeneye,_ then pops up again half way through the film And dies again! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/94 "2026-03-31T14:33:43Z")
Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer was in dozens of movies and I don’t recall him dying in any of them, even when he played “Speed” in _Motorcycle Gang_.\* \*in real life, he was shot and killed at age 31 during an argument over a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/95 "2026-03-31T14:38:00Z")
Late 80s drinking game involved trying to keep up with Arnold’s kill count in _Commando_, _Raw Deal_, _Conan_ and the like. From a sheer kills vs times killed, he’s gotta be up there. Especially if his T800 deaths only count as one. And he’ll be back! ---
**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 31, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/96 "2026-03-31T14:54:00Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Oops!! 😳 > > Did I inadvertently leave that out of the briefing? Oh, he got a terrific briefing on how to go undercover in a specific city, and how to surreptitiously meet with — or walk away from, and later meet with the replacement for — each smuggler who can only get caught with one _can’t-prove-anything_ component of an atomic-bomb mechanism to be assembled in your apartment; when you get the order, press the two-hour countdown-timer button right here. Two hours should be enough for you to easily get, what fifty miles away? I mean, if you’re near a highway, you could probably make it a _hundred_ miles away; just don’t drive fast enough to get pulled over, is all. The idea, of course, is: it’s not a “two-hour timer” button; it’s The Button. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/97 "2026-03-31T15:18:37Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > The idea, of course, is: it’s not a “two-hour timer” button; it’s The Button. Ooooooooooooooh, that is SO wrong! LOL ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/98 "2026-03-31T18:16:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@Jasmine](#): > > > > Oops!! 😳 > > > > Did I inadvertently leave that out of the briefing? > > Oh, he got a terrific briefing on how to go undercover in a specific city, and how to surreptitiously meet with — or walk away from, and later meet with the replacement for — each smuggler who can only get caught with one _can’t-prove-anything_ component of an atomic-bomb mechanism to be assembled in your apartment; when you get the order, press the two-hour countdown-timer button right here. Two hours should be enough for you to easily get, what fifty miles away? I mean, if you’re near a highway, you could probably make it a _hundred_ miles away; just don’t drive fast enough to get pulled over, is all. > > The idea, of course, is: it’s not a “two-hour timer” button; it’s The Button. It was an excellent book. Of course it’s much more complex than the movie. Fredrick Forsyth books always are. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2026, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/99 "2026-04-01T05:31:48Z")
I’ve never seen _The Fourth Protocol,_ but I’ve read the book. Must be the only popular book, and the only film of any note, predominantly set (and partly filmed) in my home town. Which is pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2026, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-our-opposite-sean-bean-someone-who-has-a-lot-of-film-appearances-and-never-dies-spoilers/1028855/100 "2026-04-01T11:28:34Z")
The movie differs significantly from the book in that it condenses and combines characters, much more than is normally done. Forsyth’s saga involves a great many people, each playing short roles during the course of the story, so that the action and viewpoint changes from character to character to character. Moviemakers don’t generally like that – they like it if you establish few main characters and stick with them. So Michael Caine’s role in the film, for instance, actually combines several individuals in the book. [Previous 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=4)