In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi told Darth Vader, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” And he was right. Not just about the character becoming more powerful in a spiritual existence after being killed, but also about the actor obtaining immortality for his performance.
Sir Alec Guinness was nearing the end of an illustrious career as an actor when he uttered that famous line, having starred in numerous classics over the years, including Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago, to name a few. But Star Wars is what he is best known for.
Kenobi’s quote also applies to other situations. Many actors, after they endure a memorable death scene, go on to play much more powerful characters. Here are 10 examples.
Alan Tudyk
Wash is the heart of the Serenity’s crew. Which is why it was so gut-wrenching to watch him get impaled through the heart just before the climax of 2005’s Serenity. Thankfully, this wasn’t the end of the road for actor Alan Tudyk. He was just getting warmed up. He brilliantly lampooned the horror genre in Dale and Tucker vs. Evil before becoming an all-powerful, conniving monarch named King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph. Watch how he soars, indeed.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
In The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger took on a police station full of cops and won. In Commando, he took on a whole army and won. And this time, he didn’t even die at the end. While he almost always dies at the end of each Terminator movie he’s in, his other roles make him unkillable. He promised he’d be back, and boy did he make good on that promise, going from a murder machine to a killer commando.
Bruce Willis
The Sixth Sense is famous for having the gumption to kill Bruce Willis, a feat that many an action movie had never been able to accomplish up to that point in his career, even when the odds were stacked against him. I mean, one bullet wound is something John McClane would be able to shrug off with all the adrenaline pumping through his veins. No matter. The very next year, Willis came back as an almost indestructible superhero in Unbreakable. Not a bad upgrade.
Christopher Walken
When Christopher Walken was making a name for himself, his characters tended to die quite a bit. The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, and Batman Returns all have incredibly memorable Walken death scenes. But that wouldn’t always be the case. For example, Click turned him into a Godlike being of incredible power over space and time. It’s ironic that Bed, Bath, and Beyond has gone bankrupt since that movie came out, but Walken’s character could easily outlive a defunct retail brand.
Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland has had an impressive career over the decades. It’s rare to see him get killed, especially at the start of a film. That’s why his death in The Italian Job came as such a shock. Thankfully, he wouldn’t be gone forever. And he came back in the Hunger Games series as President Snow, the leader of the not-so-free world. From a thief to a world leader. Even Handsome Rob would be jealous of that leap in status.
John Hurt
John Hurt might just have the most iconic movie death of all time in Alien. Certainly the most shocking. He also had an emotionally gripping death scene in The Elephant Man. And he died in everything but body in 1984. Speaking of dystopian futures, he got elevated from a mere cog in the system to the one pulling all the levers of power in V for Vendetta. He basically is Big Brother in that film.
John Travolta
Pulp Fiction famously jumpstarted John Travolta’s career in 1994. He just had to pay one little price by dying at the “end” of the story, which is more like the middle of the movie. Anyway, he suddenly had all kinds of roles in great movies after his character died. One of my personal favorites is 1996’s Phenomenon, in which Travolta plays a regular guy who gets endowed with power from on high to become the smartest man in the world. He can predict earthquakes, read hundreds of books in a couple of days, speak numerous languages fluently, perform lightning-fast calculations in his head, and fix an unfixable motor. Oh, and he gets the girl of his dreams to fall for him. What a sweet story.
Ralph Macchio
The Outsiders is a good movie from 1983 that is filled to the brim with before-they-were-famous stars, not the least of whom is Ralph Macchio. His Johnny Cade gave his life to save others. But that wasn’t the end for this young actor. The very next year in The Karate Kid, his Daniel LaRusso learned a powerful attack that, when done right, “no can defense.”
Sigourney Weaver
Talk about a change in status. Sigourney Weaver went from a doomed Warrant Officer in Alien3 to the First Lady just one year later in Dave. Sure, she’s not terribly happy in either job, and she’s much more content when she gives them up at the end of each film. But still, it’s hard to do better than being married to the President of the United States.
Tim Curry
Who doesn’t love Tim Curry? He can effortlessly play an absolute scoundrel and an adorable teddy bear, sometimes at the same time, like in Clue. In the true ending of that film, Curry’s character pays for his crimes with his life. But does a little thing like his character’s death stop that actor? Absolutely not. Five years later, he came back bigger and badder than ever in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in It. Pennywise is terrifying enough in the book, but Curry’s interpretation of the character brings it to a whole new level. When he says he’s every nightmare and fear you’ve ever had, you believe him.
Honorable Mentions
Here are a few more actors who didn’t quite make the cut, but they deserve special mention:
Denzel Washington’s acting career began after he was shot through the heart and won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his trouble in Glory.
Leonard Nimoy began a successful career as a director after he died as Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. He directed the next two Star Trek films, as well as Three Men and a Baby.
Marlon Brando died in The Godfather and came back as Superman’s father Jor-El in Superman: The Movie. Kind of a lateral move if you ask me. Diabolical Mob boss who fathers an even more diabolical son to benevolent Kryptonian leader who fathers an even more benevolent son. Different sides of the same coin.
Samuel L. Jackson’s acting career took off after he was ripped to shreds by a raptor in Jurassic Park.
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