Fans of Fear the Walking Dead were surprised when, in Season 4 of the series, series regular Frank Dillane departed the show.
Dillane starred as Nick Clark, one of the main characters and a member of the Clark family alongside Alycia Debnam-Carey and Kim Dickens.
Fear the Walking Dead was the first spin-off series commissioned in the hit Walking Dead universe. It focused on exploring the early days of the zombie outbreak in Los Angeles, primarily from the point of view of the Clark family.
Dillane's character experienced plenty of challenges throughout his four seasons, with Nick battling a drug addiction and going on a vengeance-fueled quest with dire consequences.
What Happened to Nick Clark in Fear the Walking Dead?
The structure of Fear the Walking Dead's fourth season was different from prior ones, with the series being split across a series of flashbacks that filled in a two-year time jump leading up to the present timeline.
The flashbacks show the Clark family (Nick, Alicia, and Madison) living with a community in a baseball stadium, while the present continues that story after the group escaped the stadium. However, their escape came with some casualties, seemingly including Nick and Alicia's mother, Madison.
Nick's main story in the present timeline sees him on a revenge quest, hunting down a group known as the Vultures, who have been competing for his community's resources.
Things come to a head in Season 4, Episode 3 of Fear the Walking Dead. In the flashbacks of the previous episodes it had been established that Nick and Madison were trying to help a young girl in their community, Charlie, find her family, only for her to be revealed as a spy who had been betraying their secrets to the Vultures.
After a long pursuit tracking down his Vulture rival (Ennis) in Episode 3, Nick fights and kills him in a silo by impaling him on a deer antler, succumbing to the darker self he's been trying to avoid all season.
However, this victory is short-lived as Charlie then appears and shoots Nick, who then dies from his injuries despite his group's attempts to save him.
While this is the end of Nick's story in the main timeline of Fear the Walking Dead, Dillane did appear in other episodes of Season 4 in order to continue the flashback narrative.
Why Did Frank Dillane Leave Fear the Walking Dead?
Nick Clark's death was sudden and unexpected for audiences but it stemmed from Frank Dillane's personal choice to leave the show.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the actor explained that his decision to leave was a combination of reasons, one of which was the long time spent filming away from his home in Europe:
"Television is hard work, and you have to shoot a lot. I also missed Europe very much. I'm not American, so after a while, I get quite homesick and all of those things. I also felt like we had achieved what needed to be achieved in the first few seasons, so I thought it was time to keep moving."
The actor added that he was also "ready to play some different characters" after portraying Nick for four years on Fear the Walking Dead.
Another factor that played in to Dillane's decision was seemingly changes in leadership behind the scenes. For reference, Dave Erickson was the showrunner for Seasons 1-3 before Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg took over in Season 4:
"The show has undergone many changes in terms of different people in charge, all of this stuff, and I just felt like the beginning of this season kind of felt like the end of an era with this show."
Dillane said that he had "mixed emotions" about leaving and planned to stay in touch with many of the actors and crew. However, Season 4 of Fear the Walking Dead saw a location change to Texas, which Dillane explained meant he wasn't as familiar with many of the crew:
"Mixed emotions, always. Very sad to go, but I'll stay in touch with them. They're just people and friends now rather than work associates. So I have no doubt the actors will stay in touch. As you said, the crew changed so much that by the time I finished this season a lot of the crew were quite new to me since we moved locations. But I will certainly miss everyone."
While many actors in the Walking Dead universe have dipped in and out of their series, Dillane did not appear in any further episodes of Fear the Walking Dead before it ended with Season 8 in 2023.
Fear the Walking Dead is available to stream on Netflix.
Read more about the Walking Dead universe:
The Walking Dead Director Reveals His Initial Problem With Daryl Dixon Spin-off
Full Cast of Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live - Every Main Character & Actor (Photos)
The Walking Dead Season 12: Will More Episodes Get Released?
