Fired Actors from tv Roles

Acting's a tough business. If you're lucky enough to get a good role -- and perhaps find fame in it -- you have to keep up appearances at all times. Or else you might find yourself in the same spot as Isaiah Washington, who was out of job despite multiple apologies. What's he doing now?

 Other well-known actors have found themselves in a similar spot for different reasons. Here's a look at some of them.


Jorja Fox & George Eads

 Show: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" 
Roles: Sarah Sidle and Nicholas Stokes


Fox and Eads reportedly were fired from the show because they failed to show up on time in what appeared to be a bid for more money.

Jerry Seinfeld

 Show: "Benson" 
Role: Frankie

The now-famous comedian had a small role on the sitcom. One day, when he went to work, he reportedly couldn't find any parts for him. That's how he learned he'd been fired.

Kim Delaney

 Show: "CSI: Miami" 
Role: Megan Donner 

After 10 episodes, Delaney was written out of the popular crime show, reportedly because of a lack of chemistry with a star.

Janet Hubert-Whitten

 Show: "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" 
Role: Aunt Viv


Hubert-Whitten played Aunt Viv for the first three seasons of the sitcom, and she didn't return after having a child. Did creative differences with the lead character play a role?

Lecy Goranson

 Show: "Roseanne" 
Role: Becky Conner


Goranson played Roseanne's daughter until she left for college, but she came back, taking over the role for the most part in the eighth season.

Hunter Tylo

 Show: "Melrose Place" 
Role: Taylor McBride

Tylo left a soap opera to take the role on "Melrose Place," then she got pregnant, and then she was fired. She sued.

JoMarie Payton

 Show: "Family Matters" 
Role: Harriette Winslow
 
Winslow, played the matriarch, had great chemistry with her screen husband. But she quit during the final season.

Rosie O'Donnell

 Show: "The View" 
Role: Co-host


O'Donnell seemed to enjoy the back-and-forth on the daytime talk show, but at one point it escalated into an argument with another co-host. She left. She was turned down for another gig. She also recently had a health scare.

Chris Engen

 Show: "The Young and the Restless" 
Character: Adam Newman


Engen, who played the son of Victor Newman on the show, quit last year over creative differences. Did he dislike a change in his character's sexual orientation?

Norm MacDonald

 Show: "Saturday Night Live" 
Character: Weekend Update host


The comedian took over the job from this "SNL" alum, but he didn't get to pass it on to his successor because he was fired. Was it because he wasn't funny enough?

Conan O'Brien

Show: "The Tonight Show" 
Role: Talk show host


In what likely is one of the messiest cast changes in talk show history, the old host took over "The Tonight Show" about a year after it was handed to O'Brien. How much did it cost NBC?