Charles Heston - Beneath The Planet Of The Apes

Charles Heston was very unconvinced with returning as the heroic astronaut George Taylor in 'Beneath The Planet Of The Apes' (1970) and so only agreed to sign for the movie if they killed him off and donated his eye-watering fee to charity.

When asked about the situation at the time, the actor said: "They asked me to simply disappear in the opening sequence, and be killed off in the end. I agreed, thinking I could end the whole thing with a death that included the end of the world.

"I sold them on this, but they were cleverer than I; they still made several sequels, though without me."

Of course, the franchise is very much alive, with the most recent 'War for the Planet of the Apes' (2017) earning a respectable $490.7 million at the box office, proving that interest in the movies is still going strong.