The actor who’s a stiff
Actor Mike Doyle may be best known for the parts in which he gets knocked off—his most recent professional death was on the season finale of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Mike Doyle had died at least seven times, says Michael Wilson in The New York Times. Over the course of his career the 36-year-old actor has had many parts. But he may be best known for the ones in which he gets knocked off. “I’ve been shot with a shotgun,” he says. “I’ve been blown up in a boat. I’ve been burned in a submarine fire. I’ve been strangled. Oh—and I was electrocuted on a fence.” Doyle’s most recent professional death was last week, on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Though he’d been on the show in a semi-recurring role more than 50 times since 2003, the producers decided he would be stabbed to death for the season finale. “There’s nothing worse,” he said during filming, a prop knife sticking out of his bloodied chest, “than sitting there holding your breath and concentrating on not moving your eyelids.” His first bit the dust in Loss of Innocence, a 1996 movie of the week, wherein he succumbed to a supposed hunting accident. He takes his serial deaths in stride, but his mother is a different story. “She’ll call me and say, ‘I know it’s not real, but I just want to make sure you’re okay.’”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's opposition
The Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff