Some actors left an indelible mark on cinema with their final roles, tragically passing away shortly after completing performances that would define their legacies forever. We explore the poignant stories of talented stars whose last works became powerful memorials to their incredible careers.
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00:00The character of Chekhov in Star Trek speaks a kind of Russian that doesn't really exist.
00:08They're creating a singularity that will consume the planet.
00:12Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at actors who tragically died
00:16after the completion or release of their most famous role.
00:19I must take the mantle back. I must.
00:24I must right these wrongs.
00:27Brandon Lee, The Crow
00:37You shouldn't smoke these. They'll kill you.
00:40The son of actor and martial arts legend Bruce Lee,
00:43Brandon followed his father's example, starring in a number of Hollywood films.
00:47While some of Brandon's early roles have gone on to become cult hits,
00:50none broke through in a substantial way.
00:52Take your shot, fun boy. You got me, dead bang.
00:58You seriously f***ed up?
01:01That changed when he was cast as the titular character in The Crow,
01:04which has become Lee's enduring legacy.
01:06Unfortunately, the other enduring legacy of the film was the on-set tragedy that took place.
01:11What is it? What? Speak to me. Speak!
01:17Having completed most of the film, due to a negligent mistake with a prop gun,
01:21Lee was shot in the chest with a blank round.
01:23Though rushed into surgery, attempts to save the young star's life were ultimately unsuccessful.
01:28Anton Yelchin, Star Trek Beyond
01:37Beginning his career as a child actor, Anton Yelchin made ripples across Hollywood from a
01:42young age, starring in both smaller independent films and big-budget blockbusters. Either way,
01:47his performances were thoughtful and profound,
01:50even when playing a part made famous by another actor.
01:52Stepping into the role of Pavel Chekhov for the 2009 Star Trek reboot,
01:56Yelchin found his most well-known role.
01:58There's a problem, sir. What?
02:00Fuel is primed, but I cannot get it to combust.
02:04Captain, we are basically standing on a very large bomb.
02:07If you miss the combustion compressor... I'm not gonna miss.
02:09He would go on to reprise that role in two sequels, including a final time for Beyond.
02:14That film, released just a month after a freak accident took Yelchin's life at just 26 years old,
02:19carried a title card honoring his memory that read simply for Anton.
02:23Then we cannot walk onto anyone inside the crater in order to beam them out.
02:27Or I could rig up pulse beacons as pattern enhancers,
02:29that I'd get the signal out of the crater.
02:30All right.
02:31Adrienne Shelley, Waitress
02:33If I had a penny for everything I loved about you, I'd have many pennies.
02:38He's making me a poem right here.
02:40First coming to the attention of filmgoers in the late 80s and early 90s,
02:43Shelley came to prominence as an indie darling through the festival circuit.
02:47Over the next decade, however,
02:48Shelley began to become more interested in roles behind the camera as well.
02:52She would go on to write and direct a number of films she co-starred in,
02:56with her film Waitress premiering at Sundance.
02:58Penny for your hair, your navel, penny for your odor, a dollar for your heart.
03:06Oh, Ogie, thank you. That sure is sweet.
03:10Heartbreakingly, that film would be her last.
03:13As she was the victim of a homicide prior to the film's release.
03:16The film would go on to be Shelley's most famous work,
03:19winning acclaim and even inspiring a hit Broadway musical by Sara Bareilles.
03:31Spencer Tracy, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
03:34Joey, this may be the last chance I'll ever have to tell you to do anything.
03:42So I'm telling you, shut up.
03:44Spencer Tracy had been a prolific star of the screen since the 1930s,
03:48earning multiple Academy Awards and appearing in dozens of films over the decades.
03:52However, the film for which he is best remembered today was his last.
03:56Before you start telling me how much guts I've got,
04:00I told you I'd have something to say. Now I'm ready to say it.
04:04Alongside his longtime partner, Catherine Hepburn,
04:07he appeared in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,
04:09which tackled the subject of interracial marriage while it was still illegal in 17 states.
04:14As he had been in poor health, Hepburn remained by Tracy's side during his final years,
04:18living with him when he suffered a fatal heart attack.
04:20I know what the doctor said. Look, could we get out of here for a few minutes?
04:24Can't we take a ride or something? What are the others doing?
04:27The film was a landmark in the civil rights movement,
04:29seen by millions, though never by Hepburn, who described viewing it as simply too painful.
04:35Paul Walker, Furious 7
04:40Walker was unquestionably best known to audiences as Brian O'Connor,
04:54one of the longtime leads of the Fast and Furious franchise.
04:57A co-lead from the first film, he'd appear in all but one of the first seven films in the franchise.
05:03Along with Vin Diesel, he became the face of one of the most popular film franchises on the planet.
05:08Halfway through the production of Furious 7, however, Walker's life was cut short in a single
05:12vehicle accident. With the help of his brothers as stand-ins, scenes involving Walker were completed.
05:18We needed to have the flexibility to replicate Paul in any situation the director wanted,
05:22to maintain Paul's legacy, and to give audiences the film that Paul would have wanted for his fans.
05:27With the film's final scene acting as an emotional send-off to the character and actor himself.
05:32You'll always be with me.
05:36And you'll always be my brother.
05:45Peter Finch, Network
05:47I think you're having a breakdown. Require treatment.
05:52This is not a psychotic episode. This is a cleansing moment of clarity.
05:58One of the most famous speeches in film history is unquestionably Peter Finch's
06:03I'm mad as hell outburst from the darkly satirical comedy Network.
06:18The film quickly became a commercial and critical success, earning a slew of Oscar
06:22nominations including Best Actor for Finch. During a promotional tour just after appearing
06:27on The Tonight Show, Finch died from a heart attack in his hotel room. Two months later,
06:31he would go on to win that Oscar posthumously, becoming the first ever actor to do so.
06:36Today, the film is remembered for its prescient take on the media landscape,
06:40perfectly personified by Finch's performance.
06:43Turn them off right now! Turn them off and leave them off!
06:47Turn them off right in the middle of a sentence I'm speaking to you now! Turn them off!
07:00Chadwick Boseman, Avengers Endgame
07:05Chadwick Boseman's star rose quickly in the 2010s when he portrayed a number of
07:09real influential African-American figures. However, his most famous role was a fictional
07:15and iconic African figure. First appearing in Captain America Civil War and later his
07:19own solo film, he played T'Challa aka the superhero Black Panther, instantly becoming
07:25one of the MCU's most popular characters. However, in the same year he first appeared
07:36as T'Challa, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, something known only to those close to the actor.
07:42His final outing as the character came in Endgame, which featured him in a triumphant
07:46moment that, in retrospect, became one of the most powerful in the entire franchise,
07:50as he would pass away just months after the film's release.
07:58Dominique Dunne, Poltergeist
08:00Following a family that unwittingly stumbled upon a curse, the Poltergeist franchise itself
08:05has been said to be cursed due to a number of tragedies that plagued the cast. The first
08:09and most infamous was the death of Dominique Dunne, who played the eldest daughter, Dana,
08:14in the original film. Dunne was horrifically murdered by her boyfriend in the same year
08:26as the release of her breakthrough performance in Poltergeist, just as she had begun to parlay
08:31that success into starring roles in TV and film. With her time cut so cruelly short,
08:36at just 22, we'll never know what she could have achieved.
08:47James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause
08:55Despite being a film icon and sex symbol for the last half-century,
08:59movie star James Dean only appeared in three major films. Even more tragically,
09:03two of those films were released after his untimely passing. An avid fan of auto racing,
09:08Dean was killed in a crash at a California junction at 24 years old, just a month before
09:13the release of Rebel Without a Cause, the only film where he received top billing.
09:17The movie, and Dean's performance, while initially receiving mixed reviews,
09:32have gone on to become a beloved and important symbol for the counterculture
09:36and recklessness of youth, made even more poignant by Dean's death.
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10:04Keith Ledger, The Dark Knight
10:12After breaking out of Australian television, Ledger had made a name for himself with American
10:17audiences with roles in films like 10 Things I Hate About You and Brokeback Mountain. Yet,
10:22his most defining role came when he took on the part of one of film's greatest villains, The Joker.
10:39Standing apart from previous iterations of the character, Ledger's turn was notable for its
10:43grittiness and his seemingly complete transformation into the Clown Prince.
10:47Just months after filming had wrapped, however, Ledger was found dead from an accidental overdose
10:52of prescription drugs. Following his passing, his performance earned near-universal praise,
10:57including a win for Best Supporting Actor at the following year's Academy Awards,
11:01making him the second actor to win the award posthumously after Peter Finch.
11:14Are there more iconic final performances we should have mentioned?
11:19Let us know in the comments below.
11:43And don't forget to like and subscribe!