10 Deceased Actors' Chilling Final Words On Screen

10 Deceased Actors’ Final Words On-Screen

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at actors who are no longer with us, but whose last film role ended on memorable lines. This will include story spoilers. As part of the impact is in actually seeing these actors, we're only focusing on live-action.

Oliver Reed

“Gladiator” (2000)

With his gruff tastes and distinguished manner, Oliver Reed made every line count. He ended his career in top form with disillusioned gladiator trainer Antonius Proximo, but would never know. Reed died of a heart attack before he could wrap on “Gladiator” in 1999. Luckily, after a dialogue for the middle of the film, the camera continued running as he workshopped the line “We mortals are but shadows and dust.” Through some clever doubling and digital effects, Proximo’s last words before being killed by Roman guards was a callback. This existential one-liner perfectly resolved the character's arc and eerily alludes to Reed’s own passing. More poignantly, it assures us of his immortality through film.

Paul Newman

“Road to Perdition” (2002)

Paul Newman could bring sympathetic gravitas even to an aging crime boss. John Rooney reaches his end in “Road to Perdition” when he refuses to give up the treacherous son who murdered his protégé’s family. Knowing what this means, Rooney tells his surrogate son and killer, [“I'm glad it's you.”] This surely struck a chord with equally revered actor Tom Hanks, who admitted to being intimidated by working with Newman. The icon did continue to do voice work and won an Emmy for the HBO miniseries “Empire Falls” before his death in 2008. Newman’s Oscar-nominated bout in “Road to Perdition” still stands out as one last display of the complexity he could deliver with the briefest lines.

Audrey Hepburn

“Always” (1989)

Screen icon Audrey Hepburn was mostly retired when Steven Spielberg called about “Always.” She was given the small but essential role of Hap, the celestial guide for Pete Sandich after he dies in World War II. Hepburn’s ethereal performance culminates in a monologue on the afterlife’s purpose in passing souls’ thoughts to the living world. She closes with, [“But remember, Pete, you’ve had your life, for better or worse. And anything you do for yourself now is a waste of spirit.”] Hepburn passed away three years later, leaving behind a towering legacy in film. Her final speech in “Always” not only tells audiences to find peace in mortality, but hints at the lasting impact of her own legacy.

Walter Huston

“The Furies” (1950)

The Huston film dynasty goes back to a stage and screen legend in his own time. Walter Huston certainly stole the show in the Western “The Furies,” as the unscrupulous rancher T. C. Jeffords. There’s meant to be poetic irony when he is ultimately betrayed by his daughter and shot by the woman of a man he murdered. But with Huston’s sudden death before the film’s release, there’s deeper meaning to the line, [“There will never be another one like me.”] This compromising expression from a dying villain is also a triumphant final declaration by his esteemed actor. For all the success and renown of his descendants, there will indeed never be another Walter Huston.

Harry Dean Stanton

“Lucky” (2017)

Indie icon Harry Dean Stanton’s final project got its mainstream release exactly two weeks after his passing at age 91. He doesn’t say much as the title character in “Lucky,” an atheist curmudgeon constantly hounded by his neighbors, until he lectures them about everything being lost in life and death. When asked about what people should do with that bleak notion, Lucky simply says, [“You smile.”] He spends the last few minutes of the film silently wandering into the desert. That silence alone speaks volumes, especially as an homage to the masterpiece Stanton vehicle “Paris, Texas.” But Stanton breaking his stoicism for an existential rant and charming grin is the perfect coda to his remarkable life.

Robin Williams

“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” (2014)

The shocking death of beloved comedian Robin Williams broke hearts around the world. So too did the fact that his last role would be a talking dog in the disastrous “Absolutely Anything.” At least he gave his all once again as Theodore Roosevelt in the third installment in the “Night at the Museum” series. As he takes one last pose before permanently returning to his statue form, Teddy warmly tells Larry Daley, [“Smile, my boy. It’s sunrise.”] Williams’s last moments in live-action came just three months after his passing, and epitomized his gift for extracting joy from tragedy. The world would manage to laugh again, but will never forget its great leaders or funnymen.

Val Kilmer

“Top Gun: Maverick” (2022)

Throat cancer seriously impeded Val Kilmer’s voice during the last decade of his life. Still, he makes the most of his brief appearance in the sequel to “Top Gun.” The once-loudmouthed Tom “Iceman” Kazansky had himself been muted by cancer, but is able to cough up reassurance for his old rival Maverick. He also gets in, [“One last thing… Who’s the better pilot? You or me?”] This wasn’t just a callback, but a playback. Kilmer’s voice was so far gone that AI was used to generate his speech from old recordings. The effect is seamless, and beautifully sends a great actor off with a retrospective of the voice we lost three years before him. Even when lip-synching, Kilmer was cool to the end.

Tony Todd

“Final Destination Bloodlines” (2025)

William Bludworth accrues quite a bit of wisdom on the nature of death over the course of the “Final Destination” series. The sixth installment would be the last appearance for horror icon Tony Todd, who was facing his own mortality alongside his character with cancer. He was thus allowed to improvise Bludworth’s final words as he sends the heroes off to break their curse: [“Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when… Good luck.”] This unusually sentimental moment for a franchise that sensationalizes death summed up the stakes with poignant philosophy. Todd passed away six months before the release of this perfect closer to his career and life.

Alan Rickman

“Eye in the Sky” (2015)

The eerie charisma of Alan Rickman is on full display in “Eye in the Sky,” released in theaters four months after his death from cancer. He plays Lieutenant General Frank Benson with callous resolve as the British and Americans plot a drone strike to prevent a terrorist attack. When the deed is done, with civilian casualty, Benson responds to criticism of his remote action by recounting the aftermath of five bombings. The monologue ends with, [“Never tell a soldier that he does not understand the cost of a war.”] Rickman’s amazing voice would be heard again with Absolem in “Alice Through the Looking Glass.” But “Eye in the Sky” was the last word on the weight he brought to every role.

Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe

“The Misfits” (1961)

Both beauty icons, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe were a steamy romantic pairing for “The Misfits.” But the early neo-Western is really a tragedy of disillusionment with brutal, lonely ranch life. It’s a solemn ride into the sunset, in a car, when Monroe’s Rosalyn asks, [“How do you find your way back in the dark?”] Gable’s Gay responds, [“Just head for that big star straight-on. The highway’s under it. It’ll take us right home.”] Gable died of a heart attack shortly before the film’s release. Monroe then secluded herself with mental illness, dying of an overdose a year-and-a-half later. “The Misfits” was their mutual final film, hailed as a masterpiece, and a record of two icons’ power down to the last exchange.

What are some other career-closing lines that still haunt you? Quote them in the comments below.