Liverpool-set drama series This City Is Ours premiered on March 23, 2025 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, starring Sean Bean, James Nelson-Joyce and Hannah Onslow.
The Times praised the on-screen chemistry between Nelson-Joyce and Bean. But chemistry wasn’t enough to keep him alive. Spoiler alert: Beanie doesn’t make it to the end. Of episode two.
This ruffled some feathers among the show’s first audiences, with some complaining that the magnitude of his role in the show was overhyped. Sean has previously admitted he’s turned down roles on the basis that audiences will “know my character’s going to die because I’m in it”.
Well, quite. Here’s an exhaustive list of Sean Bean’s on-screen deaths, including some which are technically off-screen deaths but which are worth including here nonetheless.
All the times Sean Bean has died on (or off-) screen in movies during his 40-year career
In total, Sean Bean has played characters that die in 24 films since he entered the industry in the early 1980s.
There are television deaths too, which will follow below. But for now, we’re focusing on feature-length movies.
Caravaggio (1986)
As Ranuccio, Sean Bean has his throat slit by Merisi Caravaggio (Nigel Terry) after he confesses to murdering Lena (Tilda Swinton).
War Requiem (1989)
Bean plays a German soldier. Enemy soldier Wilfred Owen (Nathaniel Parker) stabs him in the stomach with a bayonet after they stumble across one another.
Wilfred later meets a bandaged Sean. However, various elements of the film suggest that this meeting actually takes place in the afterlife. Meaning: Sean is, in fact, dead.
The Field (1990)
Sean’s character Tadgh McCabe plummets to his death from a cliff while attempting to outrun a herd of cows. Moo. Ouch.
Lorna Doone (1990)
As Carver Doone, Sean drowns in a bog.
Patriot Games (1992)
Finally given the opportunity to play a character with whom he shares a name (Sean Miller), Sean nevertheless meets a sticky end by accidentally impaling himself on an anchor during a fight with Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) on the deck of a burning speedboat.
Just in case you were left wondering if he made it or not, the boat crashes and explodes. Bye-bye Beanie.
GoldenEye (1995)
The name’s Bean. Sean Bean. Or, in this case, Alec Trevelyan.
In his first foray into the James Bond franchise, Sean Bean is killed off when General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov (Gottfried John) shoots him in the head.
This turns out to have been faked. Yes! Sean returns later in the movie. He then suffers mortal injuries when Bond (Pierce Brosnan) drops him from an antenna cradle onto a satellite dish.
The flaming antenna cradle collapses on top of him, and he burns to death. Sorry, Sean. It was bound to happen.
Airborne (1998)
As Dave Toombs, Sean’s character was shot by Ron Simpson (Colm Feore).
Essex Boys (2000)
As Jason Locke, shotgunned by John Dyke (Tom Wilkinson).
Don’t Say a Word (2001)
As Patrick Koster, buried alive.
He falls into a freshly-dug grave with wooden supports. Dr Nathan Conrad (Michael Douglas) dislodges them and the graves collapses in on itself.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Finally, we’ve arrived at The Lord of the Rings. Sean Bean plays Boromir. He’s shot three times with arrows during a battle with the orcs in the woods.
He dies not long after, while talking to Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen).
Later, we see his body on a flameless Viking funeral boat tumbling over a waterfall.
Equilibrium (2002)
As Errol Partridge, a cleric, shot in the head by John Preston (Christian Bale).
The Island (2005)
As Dr Merrick, Sean falls from a platform during a struggle with Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor). He dies by hanging as a result of a cord that’s tangled around his neck.
The Hitcher (2007)
As John Ryder, Sean is shot in the head with a shotgun by Grace Andrews (Sophia Bush).
Outlaw (2007)
Sean plays Danny Bryant. A police officer shoots him in the chest.
Far North (2007)
As Loki, Sean runs naked out into the Arctic tundra in a panic after discovering Saiva (Michelle Yeoh) killed Anja (Michelle Krusiec) and is wearing her face as a mask.
Technically this isn’t an on-screen death. But we’re including it anyway since it’s just about the only logical conclusion to what happens.
Ca$h (2010)
Sean plays twin brothers Pyke and Reese Kubic. One of them dies, making Ca$h a seemingly rare example of a Sean Bean character making it to the end of a film.
Pyke dies during a struggle for a gun between Sean, Sam Phelan (Chris Hemsworth) and Leslie Phelan (Victoria Profeta) in Sean’s car. He dies from a gunshot to the head.
Reese lives. Well done Reese.
Black Death (2010)
As Ulrich, Sean dies by dismemberment. After tying his limbs to two separate horses, Hob (Tim McInnerny) has the horses run off in different directions.
One thing leads to another, or more accurately, one thing leads to several things.
Death Race 2 (2010)
As Markus Kane, shot in the chest by Triad gangsters.
Age of Heroes (2011)
Sean plays a character called Jones who, again, presumably dies (off-screen) after soldiers corner him during a battle.
We only hear gunshots, but he’s absent from the rest of the movie. In war, gunshots mean death, don’t they?
Silent Hill Revelation (2012)
As Harry, Sean dies by stabbing and slicing.
Specifically, Pyramid Head (Roberto Campanella) slices him in half in Alessa’s (Adelaide Clemens) nightmare. He survives the actual film, but we’ve chosen to include it in our list because dream deaths are still deaths. They still feel like deaths. Don’t they Sean?
Wicked Blood (2014)
As Frank Stinson, Sean dies in an explosion. He is also shot.
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016)
Sean plays Regis Lucis Caelum. Death by stabbing.
Titus (Adrian Bouchet) holds him off so that (Lunafreya) Lena Headey and Aaron Paul’s character can escape, and stabs him in the back during the scuffle.
Dark River (2017)
As Richard Bell, Sean dies from illness. His death takes place off-screen, but it definitely happens because his daughter Alice (Ruth Wilson) informs Pete (Jonah Russell) of it.
Knights of the Zodiac (2023)
As Alman Kido, Sean dies off-screen, though sort of on-screen, in a big house explosion.
All of Sean Bean’s television deaths, from Game of Thrones to Snowpiercer and This City Is Ours
That’s the films out of the way. Now, onto the TV shows.
By our count, there are 13 TV series in which Sean Bean has died on-screen. Or rather, in which he has pretended to die on-screen. It ain’t easy, being Bean.
In chronological order…
Clarissa (1991)
Sean plays Robert Lovelace. He dies by stabbing during a sword-fight with Sean Pertwee’s character Jack.
Screen One: Tell Me That You Love Me (1991)
Sean’s character Gabriel Lewis dies either by suicide or stabbing, or both.
Scarlett (1994)
As Lord Richard Fenton, Sean dies by stabbing. He’s asleep, too, so it’s doubly unfair.
Henry VIII (2003)
Sean’s character Robert Aske dies either of exposure or of starvation (technically off-screen) after followers of Ray Winstone’s Henry chain him to a gate.
His death is a foregone conclusion.
Red Riding: 1974 (2008)
As John Dawson, shot to death by Andrew Garfield’s Eddie. Sean confesses to murdering three young girls and gets his comeuppance.
Game of Thrones: Baelor (2011)
You knew it was coming eventually. You’ve been counting down to it. It’s one of Sean Bean’s most famous, and heart-wrenching, on-screen deaths.
As Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark, Sean dies by beheading, on Joffrey Baratheon’s (Jack Gleeson) orders. His severed head later appears on a pike atop a wall, for all to see.
The Frankenstein Chronicles: Lost and Found (2015)
Sean plays Inspector John Marlott, and dies by execution by hanging. He’s resurrected, but still. He dies.
Medici: The Magnificent: Mass (2018)
As Jacopo de’ Pazzi, Sean dies by execution by hanging – yes, again – for ordering a hit on Giuliano de’ Medici (Bradley James) trying the same on Lorenzo (Daniel Sharman).
Curfew: Episode 3 (2019)
Sean plays General Errol Chambers. He dies by a shot to the head, with Rose Williams’ character Faith to thank for it.
Snowpiercer: Ouroboros (2022)
As Joseph Wilford, Sean dies after a gun battle in the canteen.
Sean actually survives the episode, since the death scene is part of a dream sequence. But again, death is death is death.
World on Fire: Episode 2.1 (2023)
Sean plays Douglas Bennett. He’s killed offscreen when a bomb falls on his house.
He doesn’t appear again in the episode but another character confirms his death.
Snowpiercer: A Moth to a Flame (2024)
Death comes for us all eventually. For no one does this ring truer than for Sean Bean.
While his death in Snowpiercer: Ouroboros may have been fictional, he dies by suicide in the follow up, A Moth to a Flame, by smoking a poisoned cigarette.
This City is Ours (2025)
And finally, in 2025, This City Is Ours, in which Sean’s character Ronnie Phelan dies following a knife attack from his right-hand-man, Michael, played by James Nelson-Joyce.
TVGuide’s Helen Fear likens this to a “mic drop moment” on the part of the scriptwriters, “and a very bold move”. Do you agree?
After This City Is Ours, Sean Bean has died in 29% of his on-screen roles
IMDB lists 128 films and TV shows in Sean Bean’s filmography, plus eight upcoming. That makes 128 on-screen characters.
He’s died in 24 films and 13 TV shows, per Cinemorgue. This makes 37 deaths in all. 37 out of 128 is equivalent to just under 29%. Not far off a third. Not the best odds, in a survival situation.
In 2019, Sean reportedly said he’d turned down roles on the basis that audiences will know his character’s going to die for the simple reason that they are his character.
“I just had to cut that out and start surviving, otherwise it was all a bit predictable,” he said. Well, it’s back to the drawing board, apparently.
This City Is Ours – now not starring Sean Bean – continues weekly on Sundays at 9pm on BBC One. It’s also available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Read more: This City is Ours star Sean Bean on overcoming ‘biggest’ fear: ‘I drank through it’
How many times have you seen Sean Bean die on-screen? Tell us on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.