Sean Bean doesn't want to die on screen any more, so he's started turning down roles

Sean Bean is notorious for being the king of the on-screen death, from Ned Stark in Game of Thrones to his GoldenEye Bond villain Alec Trevelyan.

But it seems he’s had enough and has now started turning down roles that see his characters meet their maker.

The 60-year-old thespian told The Sun that he has said no to jobs in which he is due to die as he believes it is too predictable for the audience.

“I’ve turned down stuff,” he said. “I’ve said: ‘They know my character’s going to die because I’m in it!’

“I just had to cut that out and start surviving, otherwise it was all a bit predictable.”

Read more: Bean discusses Ned Stark’s final words

Bean added that he did manage to negotiate with one particular job that they could “injure [him] badly” as long as the character was allowed to remain alive.

The variety of death scenes in which Bean has appeared is legendary and has birthed many a YouTube supercut.

He was beheaded in Game of Thrones and fell a very long way in GoldenEye, but some of his most memorable deaths have seen him torn apart by horses (Black Death), impaled on an anchor (Patriot Games) and forced off a cliff by cattle (The Field).

“I’ve played a lot of baddies,” said Bean. “They were great, but they weren’t very fulfilling — and I always died.”

Read more: Surprising career for Game of Thrones child star

Bean’s on-screen deaths are so notorious that there was even a ‘Don’t Kill Sean Bean’ social media campaign in 2014 urging creators to rethink their decisions when casting the star.

It seems the actor has now taken matters into his own hands on that front.

As a Bond villain of the past, Bean also revealed his choice to replace Daniel Craig in the iconic tuxedo after the current leading man bows out in No Time to Die.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Bean is pulling for his Game of Thrones son — Bodyguard actor Richard Madden.

Read more: Idris Elba really doesn’t want to talk about James Bond

He said: “He’s got everything that’s required of the role. He’s strong, he’s masculine and he’s also got a soft underbelly.

“He’s vulnerable, good looking — Scottish! I can’t see why he wouldn’t get the part.”

Bean can be seen next in BBC wartime miniseries World on Fire later this month.