Left: Beverly Hills 90210
Reason: Difficulties on Set
Est. Salary Loss: $17,500 per episode*
Shannen Doherty has earned a reputation of being difficult to work with, having had more than one run-in with both castmates and show executives. Of the shows she has worked on, Doherty played Prue Halliwell on the supernatural show, “Charmed,” a show about three witch sisters.
In keeping with her bad-girl reputation, Doherty had developed a big feud with castmate Alyssa Milano, leading to the request that Doherty is fired! Doherty got wind of the plan and she decided to leave on her own terms before she could be fired.
Rob Lowe
Left: The West Wing
Reason: Contract Dispute
Est. Salary Loss: $70,000 per episode*
Some may forget that, before he became a bigger name in Hollywood, Rob Lowe starred as Sam Seaborn on "The West Wing." The character was an important one as Seaborn was the White House Director of Communications. After three seasons, however, Lowe was very dissatisfied with his character’s screen time as well as his salary.
When NBC was unwilling to address both of Lowe’s concerns, he decided it was time to go. Today, Lowe says he has no regrets about leaving "The West Wing" and why should he? Lowe has gone on to create a substantial (and well-paying) career for himself as he has starred in many films and TV series since (and is worth $60 million).
Denise Crosby
Left: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Reason: Creative Differences
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
Denise Crosby got her start in front of the screen on the daytime soap "Days of Our Lives." She was involved in other projects but she is probably best known for her role as Security Officer Tasha Yar on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Though her role may have appeared to be successful in the eyes of fans, Crosby was dissatisfied and wanted her character to be of a higher caliber.
After having no luck in changing the minds of producers, Crosby immediately exited in the middle of season one, as Tasha Yar was killed by an alien.
Mandy Patinkin
Left: Criminal Minds
Reason: Creative Differences
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
Mandy Patinkin has become a prolific actor, displaying his talents in "The Princess Bride," "True Colors," and "The Doctor," among others. When Patinkin took the role of Jason Gideon on "Criminal Minds," he eventually found the plotlines so dark and disturbing that they became psychologically taxing for the actor.
Apparently, he did not fully grasp the show’s concept when he signed and decided to leave after just two seasons. Patinkin’s career did not suffer, however, and he has since had success as Saul Berenson on "Homeland" among a slew of other projects.
Marlon Brando
Left: The Egyptian
Reason: Bad Health
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
Early in Marlon Brando's career, he was set to take lead in the film "The Egyptian." The role eventually went to Edmund Purdom, with Brando just making it through one rehearsal. After that, as the book "Casting Might-Have-Beens" describes, 20th Century Fox received a letter from Brando’s psychiatrist, which told the studio that the star was “too sick” to appear in the film.
Fox didn’t take this well, and in turn, sued Brando for reneging on his deal. Fox won, which wasn’t surprising given this was an era where studios ruled supreme over actors as the norm. Brando had to pay $75,000 for the delay he caused to "The Egyptian," and he also had to appear in another movie for the studio, which would be "Desiree."