Left: The Vampire Diaries
Reason: Creative Differences
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
Nina Dobrev shocked her fans around the world when she announced she would be leaving “The Vampire Diaries.” Her choice was apparently something long in the making, as she chose to leave because she was simply ready to get some rest, reclaim some of her freedom, and move on to other opportunities.
We assume a tiny factor for her leaving was how tiresome it must have been to work with Ian Somerhalder after they broke up, and having to watch him fall in love with someone else and quickly marry them.
Evan Rachel Wood
Left: 10 Things I Hate About Life
Reasons: Personal
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
The film was set to shoot at the start of 2013, but production was delayed four weeks after filming. What was the problem? She reportedly left the film back in 2013 for personal reasons, allegedly saying she couldn’t return until the end of the year.
It was revealed that a lawsuit was filed against the actress, claiming over $30 million in damages. That amount was made up of alleged lost profits, equity investments, and special damages. Evan Rachel Wood’s representatives declared the lawsuit “a bullying tactic from the broke producers,” claiming that they’d run out of money. Evan Rachel Wood denied the accusations in the lawsuit. The film remains unfinished, and it’s unclear just what happened with the lawsuit.
John Travolta
Left: The Double
Reason: Creative Differences
Est. Salary Loss: $17 million
John Travolta was back near the top of his peak in 1997, and he was set to star in "The Double," with director Roman Polanski. But after signing he dropped out of the movie, which prompted a lawsuit to be aimed in his direction.
The suit demanded that Travolta “insisted screenplay rewrites without the director's knowledge.” Travolta had been set to bag $17 million for this film, but his lawyer insisted that he had hadn’t signed the contract. No more details were forthcoming.
Katherine Heigl
Left: Grey’s Anatomy
Reason: Creative Differences
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
Katherine Heigl is yet another "Grey’s Anatomy" cast member to make a premature exit. Heigl played Dr. Izzie Stevens and was on the show for six seasons when major, behind-the-scenes problems, arose. Though all may have seemed well on the outside, Heigl harbored major disapproval of the show and the writers.
With bad blood brewing between Heigl and major players behind the scenes, Izzie Stevens was dismissed with a tragic melanoma diagnosis. Sadly for Heigl, this may not have been the best move as she has struggled in her acting career after exiting the show.
Topher Grace
Left: That 70s Show
Reason: Wanted to Pursue Other Projects
Est. Salary Loss: $250,000 to $350,000 per episode.
Topher Grace was another actor who wanted to break out of the world of tv and onto the big screen. For seven seasons, Grace played Eric Forman on the sitcom "That 70s Show," but when Grace said he was ready to move on, the producers accommodated him. In a curious write out, Eric Forman was sent to Africa to teach English and was never seen again.
The exit of Topher Grace (and simultaneously of Ashton Kutcher) signaled the death of the show and it was over after eight seasons. Since then, Grace has made a relatively successful film career for himself.