Over the years, some pretty major stars have said goodbye to acting roles for a ton of different reasons.

Ross Butler, for example, starred on both Riverdale (as Reggie) and 13 Reasons Why (as Zach) before exiting the CW series.

“There are other projects that I’m looking at, but the main reason was 13 Reasons. I was pretty sure it was going to come back for a second season and I put all my chips on that coming back,” the actor told Seventeen in May 2017. “If I left Riverdale and 13 Reasons didn’t happen, I would not be in a good place. But I was getting some good vibes that it would get picked up.”

Ultimately, he starred as Zach Dempsey for all four seasons of 13 Reasons Why while actor Charles Melton took over his Riverdale role.

One of Ross’ 13 Reasons Why costars, Katherine Langford, experienced something similar when leaving her starring role as Hannah Baker. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot more as a person, and hopefully more as an actor, and that’s something that I hope I can continue to do,” she told RadioTimes.com about leaving the character in the past after two seasons.

During a Sonny With a Chance reunion in April 2020, Demi Lovato opened up about her decision to depart from the Disney Channel series. The actress explained that she “went through a lot” while filming the show.

“[I] wasn’t sleeping and I was so miserable and angry too because I felt like I was being overworked,” Demi told her former costars. “I had the best time with you guys and when I think about the show, I miss you guys. If we were ever to do anything, I think we should just do a whole new thing.”

In a separate interview with Bustle in July 2020, the songstress also touched upon leaving the sitcom. “When I went to treatment in 2010,” she said. “I came out of the experience with the choice of talking about my struggles or my journey with the possibility of helping people, or keeping my mouth shut and going back to Disney Channel. And I was like, that doesn’t feel authentic to me. So I chose to tell my story.”

Similarly, Jake T. Austin, Miley Cyrus, Dylan and Cole SprouseShailene Woodley, Ariel Winter, Rowan Blanchard and more stars have all left various shows and movies for one reason or another over the years. Scroll through our gallery to uncover why these actors said goodbye to some of their roles. 

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