18. Cote De Pablo
Exited: NCIS
Reason: Private Matters
Est. Salary Forfeiture: $160,000 per installment*
Fans loved actress Cote de Pablo during the times she appeared on the NCIS program in the third season playing the role of Ziva. Before Cote announced she no longer wanted to be part of the program in the tenth season, Ziva actually was a recurring character on the program. Her persona was returned to her home country.
18 Cote De Pablo
Cote clearly has been open in appearances about her reasons for leaving, claiming that it totally was a “frightening” choice to make but was something that had to be done. In the end, she walked away since she actually didn’t like how the role was developing and believed that staying would have let Ziva’s supporters down. She did make an appearance for a brief storyline in a couple of seasons a few years back.
19. Mischa Barton
Exited: The O.C.
Reason: Realized that the character couldn’t bring anything else to the table thus tried to look for something more fulfilling.
Est. Salary Forfeiture: $15,000-$25,000 per installment*
The lovable O.C. program actress Mischa Barton was fired since she was wary of the program and opted to seek other acting opportunities. Barton asserts that she made the choice and requested to be taken off the casting and just be removed. She portrayed the disruptive Marissa Cooper character, which met an unfortunate end in a vehicle collision.
19 Mischa Barton
The character was initially intended to just leave for a different town, according to the creators. But Barton argued that it didn’t fit the character’s essence since the persona was “an underdog” who will never walk down slowly into a gentle drop, but would rather experience an explosive (no pun intended) ending. It truly was a sad time in the story when Marissa died unexpectedly (not really), but it may have been the end. Despite the fact that the program did not have a long tenure on the airwaves gracing us with its entertainment, it was lovable and enjoyable enough to have a following that has proven to be extremely loyal.
