The Real Reason These Actors Left Popular Sci-Fi Shows

It's easy to see why science fiction captivates our imaginations. Who doesn't want to get lost in their favorite sci-fi TV series for a few episodes, traveling around the galaxy, exploring other dimensions, speculating on the endless possibilities of futuristic technology? From Star Trek to Doctor Who to Battlestar Galactica, plenty of sci-fi shows have audiences that span generations, cultures, and nations. Sci-fi can take us somewhere entirely new, yet so too can it bring us into closer contact with the nuances of our own world. No wonder sci-fi fandom is so uniquely passionate.

Perhaps it's because popular sci-fi shows attract such dedicated fans that an actor's departure often inspires strong emotions from these viewers. Saying goodbye to characters you've been watching for ages is always disappointing, of course, but it really hits hard when the character in question has survived intergalactic apocalypse. We're here to examine a few of those sci-fi actors who left their celebrated shows unexpectedly. Why did they leave? What have they done since? These are the stories behind their curtain calls.

As FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson tackled mysterious cases involving supernatural phenomena on The X-Files. Mulder always assumes a paranormal link, while Scully takes a more skeptical approach. But after Duchovny chose to leave the series at the end of season seven, the show just wasn't the same.

"As much as I love the show, I think for me this will be the end," Duchovny wrote in a statement released after the news of his departure broke. "I always thought five years was enough. Seven years is definitely enough." His contract was officially up at the end of the seventh season, and rather than renewing it, he decided to leave. The fact that Duchovny felt he had overstayed his welcome on the show wasn't the only factor that prompted him to leave, however. Duchovny was also stuck in a legal battle with Fox over syndication revenue, as he felt Fox was taking in greater profits from reruns while reducing his own earnings from royalties.

The original series continued for two more seasons, with Duchovny making only occasional appearances. However, he did return to his leading role in the tenth and eleventh seasons, which aired in 2016 and 2018, well after the initial run had wrapped up.

After joining the long-running British sci-fi smash Doctor Who in the titular role, Christopher Eccleston found the famous part to be more trouble than it was worth. He ended up leaving the show after only one season, leaving fans wondering why.

"I left only because of those three individuals and the way they were running the show. I loved playing the character," Eccleston explained during a panel discussion at New York Comic-Con in 2019. "I felt I was going to play the Doctor my way and I wasn't going to get involved with those politics and that wasn't workable, so off I went. I became the Invisible Man." Eccleston eventually admitted that the "three individuals" he had professional conflicts with were the showrunner, producer, and co-producer at the time.

Eccleston also faced other obstacles while playing the Doctor. He struggled with an eating disorder while filming, and felt he was treated unfairly by the media. Eventually, he reached a point where he felt that staying in the role was no longer in his best interests.

Michael O'Hare starred as Commander Jeffrey Sinclair on the first season of Babylon 5, which featured an ensemble cast coming together on the eponymous space station. The show was quite a success, which is why fans were confused when O'Hare was demoted to a guest role, then left the show entirely after season three.

Series creator J. Michael Straczynski eventually explained why O'Hare had to abandon his leading role after only one season, and why he could only manage a guest part in season two and three. O'Hare dealt with severe paranoia and hallucinations, and these struggles made it practically impossible for him to film his scenes. Babylon 5 fans did not find out why O'Hare had left the show until after his death, and it shocked many to know that O'Hare had been dealing with these challenges on set. Straczynski has revealed that O'Hare fought incredibly hard to do right by the show's cast and the fans, and that he wanted his condition to remain secret until his death. Only since his death by heart attack in 2012 have fans known the full truth.

Before joining the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation as Wesley Crusher, Wil Wheaton had already made a name for himself with roles in films like Stand By Me. Playing Crusher represented a career boost for Wheaton, but after a few seasons, he decided to leave to pursue other aspirations in Hollywood.

"Initially I thought it was a really smart business career move. In some ways it was and in more ways it wasn't. What I wasn't prepared for was how much I was going to miss the people on this stage," Wheaton explained during a panel discussion at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in 2012. He admitted that he didn't make much of an effort to stay in touch with the rest of the cast after making his exit, and eventually, he felt embarrassed about his decision to leave the show.

"I just felt really ashamed of myself," Wheaton continued. "I felt like I just couldn't go to the set — I felt like I couldn't look them in the eye and that I couldn't invite them to my wedding." But years later, he was able to reconnect with his former co-stars — and unsurprisingly, they had no hard feelings towards him for leaving the show.

On the military science fiction series Stargate SG-1, Don S. Davis played George Hammond, who runs the military base Stargate Command. Hammond is a stern, straight-laced guy who genuinely cares about the people under his command, his characterization possibly inspired by Davis' own experiences in the military.

Davis eventually admitted that he had to leave Stargate earlier than he had intended. Why did he have to quit? He was dealing with multiple health problems that made it very difficult for him to continue acting. Davis stated that the showrunners were always willing to work around his surgeries, doctor's appointments, and other scheduling conflicts, but eventually, he simply couldn't keep pushing ahead with work."Stargate stood by me," Davis explained in an interview with GateWorld, "They made sure that there was nothing that I was asked to do that might put me in harm's way. But there comes a time where you really can't, if you're in my condition. I'm a heart patient. I'm a diabetic. I've got other minor problems, and it's really time to slow down." Sadly, Davis passed away after having a heart attack in 2008.

Paul Campbell played Billy Keikeya on the 2004 series Battlestar Galactica. For two years, his character serves as the personal assistant to President Laura Roslin. But Campbell did not sign an official contract with the show, and while he was working on Battlestar Galactica, he was still open to new opportunities. At the beginning of season two, he landed a role in a new pilot which took him away from filming for a few episodes. When said pilot didn't work out, he returned to Battlestar Galactica – however, his appearances on the show became sporadic, and the showrunners were getting frustrated with his absences. This resulted in his character being killed off.

"So after that [they] kind of gave me the ultimatum and said sign a contract for five years, or we kind of need to go our separate ways," Campbell said in a 2006 interview, "and I kind of put it off and put it off, then eventually they just said, 'Look, we can tell you're not really committed to the show, and we can't write story lines. So we've decided to kill the character.'"

Star Trek is one of the most well-known sci-fi franchises of all time, but not every actor involved is satisfied with their character's arc. Denise Crosby, who played Security Chief Tasha Yar in Star Trek: The Next Generation, didn't think that the writers gave her enough interesting material to work with.

Over time, Crosby became more and more frustrated with the way Tasha Yar was portrayed. She started to feel like more of a prop than an actress. She has stated that out of all the characters she has played, she "holds Tasha the closest to her heart," but eventually, she realized that she would never be able to develop the character further. "I wanted to leave as I was struggling with not being able to do much with the character. I had all these ideas and couldn't do them. I was just stage dressing. I chose to leave instead of just being satisfied with that," Crosby revealed in a 1996 interview with StarTrek.com. "I've never regretted my decision."

Aml Ameen played Capheus on the first season of Sense8. Fans were thus surprised when they found out that the same character would be played by actor Toby Onwumere in the second season. It seems that Ameen's departure was a result of some kind of behind-the-scenes conflict with executive producer and director Lana Wachowski. Apparently, the two began clashing during table reads for season two in Berlin. Rather than working out their differences before the cameras began rolling, Ameen and Wachowski continued to butt heads when filming for new episodes began in India. As a result, Ameen was abruptly replaced by a new actor.

It's a mystery as to what actually caused the tensions between Ameen and Wachowski. Perhaps it was merely creative differences and disagreements about the storyline for Ameen's character in season two, or maybe Ameen and Wachowski didn't get along on a personal level, and their strained relationship was beginning to affect the atmosphere on set. Fans may never get a straight answer.

For three seasons, Matt Smith took on the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who. Head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat was very impressed by Smith from the beginning — after seeing him act, he knew that Smith was the perfect choice to play the new Doctor. 

But ultimately, Smith became too burned out by the demands of the role. "I'd always talked about leaving after the 50th anniversary," Smith told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's a very intense process to play the Doctor. The line-learning is really hard, and you have to live away from home for nine or 10 months a year. I love the show, and it wasn't an easy choice to come to, but it's the right time." However, it seems that he now has mixed feelings about his eventual decision to leave, as he has stated that he wished he could have spent more time working with his talented co-star Jenna Coleman.

Superhero sci-fi show Misfits was an unexpected hit in the United Kingdom, and helped to launch the careers of several rising stars, including Robert Sheehan. In Misfits, Sheehan starred as Nathan Young for two seasons. Nathan realizes that he is immortal when he wakes up in his own coffin after supposedly falling to his death. But after an exciting character arc, Sheehan decided to quit while he was ahead and take his career in a new direction. 

"I was absolutely quite happy about when I went off, it seemed like a no-brainer at the time, because I was just a restless fella who was trying to go off and do as much different stuff as possible," Sheehan said. "I'd done two good summers with that show, so was wildly impatient to do other stuff." It turned out to be a good career move, proving that Misfits opened up doors for him. After his departure, Sheehan landed a regular role as Darren on Love/Hate, and more recently, the role of fan-favorite Klaus Hargreeves on The Umbrella Academy.

Corin Nemec ended up landing a part on Stargate SG-1 in an unexpected way. Michael Shanks, who had played Daniel Jackson, left the show after season five, and the writers didn't want to leave a void in the SG-1 team. Nemec happened to be auditioning for another role when he bumped into the casting team for Stargate SG-1. They thought he seemed like the perfect fit to play Jonas Quinn, a new character they would be adding to the show.

Nemec loved working on Stargate SG-1, and even got to pitch ideas for different episodes. Eventually, Shanks was able to come back for another season. Nemec hoped to stay on board too — however, the writers decided it was time for Jonas Quinn to go. When asked why he was written off the show, Nemec admitted that he didn't know why the writers couldn't have simply incorporated both his character and Michael Shanks' into the storyline. However, he suspected that budget limitations may have been a major factor in this decision.

On Babylon 5, Julie Caitlin Brown played Na'Toth, an alien diplomat known for her witty retorts. Although her role is certainly entertaining, Brown only stuck around for five episodes in the first season.

Brown had a rather unique reason behind her decision to leave the show. Although her distinct character design is unforgettable, Brown wasn't a huge fan of it. In fact, she often found herself feeling intensely uncomfortable on set. "My face was very sore from the makeup and I was afraid there would be permanent damage," Brown disclosed in a 2006 interview. Brown further stated that she had not signed a long-term contract for Babylon 5 when she came onto the show, as she wasn't sure how long she wanted to stick with the role. Therefore, it was relatively easy for her to say goodbye to the cast and crew and move on to new projects. Years later, however, she admitted to regretting her early exit. "I wish I would have stayed a little longer, as the character was so interesting," she lamented.

Debuting in 1993, Terry Farrell portrayed Jadzia Dax in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," before the character was killed off in the Season 6 finale to the dismay of many as she'd been a stalwart series regular, was married to a fellow main character, and best friend to the show's captain. While fans may have been blindsided, Farrell has been more than open about her exit from the series over the years.

In a 2011 chat with TrekMovie, Farrell said she was feeling some burnout after a six-year run. "I was just really tired. I was tired of waking up at four in the morning. I was tired of all the minutiae." At the same time, her contract was up, and she was receiving interest elsewhere around Hollywood, so was looking to renegotiate for less screen time. "I did suggest in the wake of that I could be recurring ... not be in every episode," she told Trek Today.

In the 2018 documentary, "What We Left Behind," the actress was more candid, describing how she had felt disrespected by producers. "The last season when I was told by one of the producers that I was really lucky to be there, and I really should sign the next contract because if I weren't there on the set, I'd be at K-Mart. That was the last straw for me." Farrell eventually landed a lead role in the NBC series, "Becker," in 1998.

In the mid-2000s, there might not have been any show hotter than "Lost," the sci-fi survivalist thriller co-created by J.J. Abrams. While the show saw plenty of characters come and go over the course of its lengthy run, none were as controversial as Mr. Eko, the drug dealer and thug-turned-priest played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Introduced at the start of the second season, he was killed off in that same year's finale. 

Though many fans have argued about how little of "Lost" was well-planned, series co-creator and writer Damon Lindelof claims at least some of that was due to Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who unexpectedly asked out of the series before the season had wrapped up. According to producer Carlton Cuse, Akinnuoye-Agbaje never felt comfortable in Hawaii — where he had moved to shoot the series — a fact not helped by his arrest by local police landed him in jail. "Hawaii was not his bag," Cuse told USA Today. "Real life intervened and forced us to end the arc of that character much sooner than we would have liked."

In 2010, Akinnuoye-Agbaje was said to have been offered a cameo in the series' epic finale, where he would have returned as the faithful Mr. Eko. But according to E! Online (via Digital Spy), he turned it down, reportedly due to a pay dispute, as the actor was said to have been looking for far more than he was offered.

The first "Star Wars" series on Disney+, "The Mandalorian" is headlined by actor Pedro Pascal and supported by the likes of "Rocky" vet Carl Weathers, "ER" star Ming-Na Wen, and former MMA fighter Gina Carano. But not long after the show's second season concluded it was announced that Carano was out, and it was no secret as to why.

According to THR, rumors that Disney was looking to axe the actress began circulating after she made a series of controversial social media posts regarding multiple polarizing topics. On top of belittling vaccines amid the Covid-19 pandemic (per Newsweek), Carano promoted the conspiracy theory that the 2020 United States Presidential Election had been stolen due to widespread voter fraud — a theory debunked and widely viewed as dangerous misinformation (per PBS). But the final straw was her anti-semitic comments comparing her beliefs to the suffering of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

In response to growing calls for her dismissal among the public — led by the social media hashtag #FireGinaCarano — Disney was forced to issue a statement that she wasn't under contract and that they had "no plans for her in the future." But in addition to announcing the end of her employment on the series, they also condemned her online comments. "Her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable," read the company's release.

A child actress who grew up amid the hustle and bustle of Hollywood thanks to her family roots — her ex-stepfather is "Scarface" director Brian De Palma — Willa Holland has had a long and varied career. In the 2000s, she starred in two of the hottest teen dramas, "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl," before graduating to superheroics in The CW's "Arrow." There she starred as Oliver Queen's upstart younger sister Thea, who eventually trains to become a vigilante herself, ultimately taking the identity of Speedy, Green Arrow's partner.

Starring for six seasons in the hit series, Holland was a stalwart of the main cast and an integral part of Arrow's universe. But in the middle of Season 6, audiences were left stunned when Speedy sets off on her own mission with boyfriend Roy Harper, the hero known as Arsenal. This wasn't just a creative way for the writers to shake up the status quo in the lead-up to the final two seasons, but an exit orchestrated by Holland herself.

"Season 6 is the end of her contract," producer and series co-creator Marc Guggenheim told Entertainment Weekly. "Going into season 6, with all of us knowing it was the end of her contract, Willa expressed the desire to move on." The decision was made to not kill off the character though, as producers had a fondness for both Speedy and Holland, and sure enough both returned for a handful of guest appearances over the final seasons.

The SyFy Channel's long-running space epic, "The Expanse," was met with rave reviews and universal critical acclaim when it debuted in 2015. It had a rocky run though, canceled after its third season before being saved by Amazon, who aired three more before it concluded in 2022. A mix of cerebral sci-fi adventure and crime noir, the series boasted what The Mary Sue called "a talented cast that contains some of the nicest actors on Earth, Mars, or in the Belt." But heading into its final year, it lost one of its main stars, Cas Anvar.

Unfortunately, Anvar's exit did not stem from a desire for personal time, or to make room for a new cast member. Unfortunately, his departure was the result of sexual assault allegations, as reported by Deadline. While none of the alleged incidents occurred on the set of "The Expanse," numerous women came forward in 2020 on Twitter, and an independent investigation was launched at the behest of the series' studio, Alcon. 

Though the results of the investigation were not disclosed, Anvar was ultimately dismissed from the series for its final season (per THR), which forced a rewrite of the Season 5 conclusion to kill off his character.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

When "Star Trek: Voyager" first launched, it featured several new alien characters whose presence helped set it apart from previous spin-offs. This included the duo of quirky ship's cook Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and the child-like Ocompan Kes, played by actress Jennifer Lien. But in Season 4, a new cast member joined, the fan-favorite former Borg drone, Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan, and it's no coincidence that her arrival coincided with the departure of Lien. 

"The studio felt that we had too many characters," said series producer Jeri Taylor, in a DVD special feature (relayed by CBR). Because Seven of Nine was going to join the regular cast, someone had to go, and Lien drew the short straw, though it wasn't entirely a random choice. "To my recollection it was a creative decision, and it was a failure of imagination on the writers part," Brannon Braga told an audience at the 2014 VegasCon (per TrekMovie). "We were running out of things to do with Kes," he said, also noting the additional drain on the show's budget thanks to the incoming Ryan. 

Still, the series didn't say goodbye forever, with Kes returning for the Season 6 episode, "Fury." That episode helped wrap up the long-running story of the character's abbreviated life cycle, and gave her a more fitting send-off than she'd seen in Season 4's "The Gift."

There are two generations of Richard Dean Anderson fans – the first know him for his role as the crafty do-gooder MacGyver (whose titular series made him an '80s icon), but there's another generation of fans who know him best for his role as Jack O'Neill in "Stargate SG-1." He'd taken over the role from action icon Kurt Russell, who'd starred in the film the show had been adapted from but found a way to make it his own. But following the show's eighth season, Anderson departed, and it was never the same. So why did he leave? It all comes down to priorities. 

In 1998, Anderson and his partner, April A. Prose had a child, and by 2004, when the show was nearing the close of its eighth year, Anderson was feeling the pull of family. In 2018, Gateworld.com covered his appearance at Fan Expo Canada where they discussed his exit from the show, citing his desire to spend more time with his wife and daughter. 

More than a decade after leaving the series though, Anderson said he would have no problems with the notion of returning to the role, but only if there were concrete limitations. "As far as punching the clock and going to work I wouldn't mind doing a mini-series of some kind," he told fans at the event. "Something that had a clear beginning and end. ... I would do something along those lines."

In the late '90s, actor Jerry O'Connell starred in "Sliders," a cult favorite that's better than you probably remember. But after its third season, the show moved from Fox to the Sci-Fi Channel, and in a 1998 interview in the Chicago Tribune, the actor expressed excitement about the new direction. "It's great to be on the Sci-Fi Channel," O'Connell told the outlet, "because we can cater to a more intelligent audience."

But as he recollected in a 2016 interview with Yahoo, things didn't turn out the way he'd hoped. "The show was completely different [that year]. We signed on for a thought-provoking, fun take on parallel worlds that explored the effects of slight changes in the way the world works. The last couple seasons, 'Sliders' became more of an action show that focused on our fighting these aliens called the Kromaggs."

But as it happened, O'Connell's displeasure with the show's altered tone coincided with the expiration of his contract. As a result, the actor felt that it was the right time to step away. "I had learned all that I was going to learn from the show after four seasons, and I decided to leave when my contract was up," he told Yahoo. "I was hoping that they would go on with my brother, who joined the cast in Season 4. They got pretty mad and decided to reboot the whole thing and blow it up." 

In the early 2000s, "Battlestar Galactica" was garnering critical praise as a gritty relaunch of a sci-fi classic. Led by veteran actor Edward James Olmos, one of its biggest strengths was a compelling roster of smaller supporting characters. This included the likes of Michael Trucco as pilot Sam Anders, Aaron Douglas as mechanic Galen Tyrol, and Nicki Clyne as Cally Henderson, a member of Tyrol's deck crew. But just as Clyne seemed poised to break out in a bigger role on the series, she abruptly left the show. In the ensuing years, her reasons for leaving have left many shocked and saddened. 

Little did anyone know at the time, but while she was starring in "Battlestar Galactica," Clyne was involved with the NXVIM sex-trafficking scandal. Drawn into the influence of convicted felon Keith Raniere, she — along with "Smallville" star Allison Mack — was among his many loyal followers despite his horrific activities. According to a 2018 report, it was also her involvement in the NXIVM cult that led to her leaving "Battlestar Galactica."

In that report, People Magazine spoke with Frank Parlato, a journalist and former member of NXIVM, who talked about Nicki's past. "Nicki has been in the cult for 12 years. She quit her regular role with 'Battlestar' to follow Raniere." As recently as 2022, Clyne has continued to show support for Raniere, who sits behind bars for racketeer, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse crimes.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Audiences seem to love live-action adaptations of popular YA sci-fi novel series, and "The 100" is one of the biggest on the small screen. Running for seven seasons, it launched on The CW in 2014 and centered on a group of people who come back to Earth almost a hundred years after leaving in the wake of nuclear armageddon. With a sprawling ensemble cast, only three actors starred in all seven seasons. Ricky Whittle though could have made it four, were it not for his leaving the show inexplicably after the second season, with his character being killed off in an eye-popping twist.

But the real revelation came in the aftermath of his departure when Whittle revealed behind-the-scenes turmoil in an interview with Afterbuzz TV. "It was my choice to go," he said, claiming there was serious beef with series showrunner Jason Rothenberg. Though he didn't go into the specifics of what sparked the feud, he did detail its effects on him. "He was professionally bullying me, cutting out all the storyline that I was supposed to be doing. Cutting lines, cutting everything out, trying to make my character and myself as insignificant as possible to the point where it was starting to get me down."

To get across just how bad things were between them, Whittle added, "If this was in the playground, it would have got physical ... but I'm an adult and violence isn't going to solve anything." 

In 2021, a new version of Superman hit the small screen with "Superman & Lois," an action-adventure series that sees the famous comic book couple raising a pair of teenagers. The series stars Tyler Hoechlin as the Man of Steel and Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane, both imported from the "Arrowverse," while Jordan Elsass and Alex Garfin play Kent sons, Jonathan and Jordan.

Following the first two seasons, however, Elsass made a surprise announcement that he would be leaving the series. A report in Deadline mentioned sources claiming that Elsass was dealing with "personal issues," but the actor sat down with The Wrap about a week later to clear the air, revealing a struggle with his mental health. "It's sad, it's a real shame. I know that I was pumped for Season 3, for sure, but what are you going to do? Anyway, mental health is definitely 100-percent priority. It's pinnacle. It's got to take precedence. And mine has been ... the last couple of years ... it's been rough."

Though Elsass didn't go any further into his experience, it sounds like he may step away from Hollywood altogether. "I need some time to myself," he told The Wrap. "I'm still debating whether I'm even going to act for a while."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

"Star Trek" clearly has a long history of writing off major cast members, with "The Next Generation" losing Denise Crosby and Wil Wheaton, Terry Farrell walking away from "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" dropping Jennifer Lien. But the franchise is still losing stars to this day, with "Star Trek: Discovery" abandoning actor Shazad Latif after two seasons. While his co-stars Jason Isaacs and Michelle Yeoh were never intended to last very long from the get-go, Latif was something a bit different.

In Season 1 he starred as Lieutenant Ash Tyler, while his dual role as the mysterious Klingon Voq was kept a tightly guarded secret, as it sat at the center of the season's major plot twist. But he returned in Season 2 as Tyler, who'd abandoned his Klingon identity, and began a romantic relationship with series lead Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). But the character said a surprising goodbye in the Season 2 finale, leaving to head up the covert intelligence agency known as Section 31. This isn't a case of Latif requesting off of the series though — quite the opposite in fact — and in a 2022 interview the actor revealed just what happened.

According to a report from TrekMovie, producers had been planning a spin-off series focused on Section 31 to star Latif alongside superstar Michelle Yeoh. But because of Yeoh's limited availability, the series has yet to get off the ground, and Latif has been left in limbo.