Behind-the-Scenes Drama: Why Did Dominique Mcelligott Leave Hell on Wheels

Summary

• From 2011 to 2012, Dominique McElligott starred in the AMC series Hell on Wheels.
• Despite her strong performance, McElligott left the project after Season 2.
• Fortunately, the reason was not due to on-set drama.

The stunning Dublin, Ireland native Dominique McElligott is best known for her role on Prime Video's The Boys, where she played Queen Maeve. No word yet on whether she will return for the final episode of Season 4 (though it's unlikely), but today we're talking about a slightly earlier project with McElligott, the American western drama Hell on Wheels. After all, the actress also left the series before it ended.

The AMC series, created by brothers Joe and Tony Gayton, chronicles the early years after the Civil War, following the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad across the Great Plains and the resulting hardships of the laborers and those who moved with them in a mobile camp called Hell on Wheels. Fans remembered the character of Lily Bell, played by McElligott, as the courageous widow of one of the construction workers and the love interest of protagonist Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount). But unfortunately, Hell on Wheels is a brutal and realistic drama that conveys all the horrors of its era, so viewers were shocked to learn of Lily's brutal death in the final episode of Season 2.

But was there a specific reason why Dominique McElligott left Hell on Wheels and her character was written out of the script?

How Did Lily Bell Die on Hell on Wheels?

In Hell on Wheels, Lilly Bell was the recently widowed wife of the surveyor of the Pacific Railroad who was trying to rise to a position of power. She was dubbed 'The Fair-Haired Maiden of the West' for her assertiveness and strong sense of justice.

But unfortunately, nothing can stand in the way of the cynical world of the American frontier and the madmen who have flooded it. In the Season 2 finale, Thor Gundersen, aka the Swede, played by Christopher Heyerdahl, strangled her to death in an attempt to get revenge on Cullen Bohannon.

It was an incredibly shocking death that was impossible to predict. After all, with all the realism presented in Hell on Wheels, such a gruesome death of one of the main characters just seemed unthinkable. However, we should not forget the town's 'Population: One Less Every Day' sign.

Why Did Dominique McElligott Leave the Show?

Of course, such an unexpected death leads to speculation as to why Lily's fate ended after only two seasons. Maybe there was a conflict on set between Dominique McElligott and the team behind the show?

But no, nothing like that seems to have happened, and the decision to kill off Lily was planned from the beginning. Only, as the actress herself told the Irish Independent in 2012, she didn't even know what fate awaited her character until a few days before filming:

'They gave us the script days before each shoot and there are pros and cons to that.'

But no matter how shocking Lily's death was to the actress herself, she was probably morally prepared for something like this:

'Yeah, I was covered in blood and wounds and stuff a lot. I like playing strong characters.'

However, it seems that McElligott did not regret her departure from the project. Although she loved her role, the filming process was incredibly resource-intensive:

'When I was doing some of Lily's scenes, I found it so draining, emotionally, physically and mentally — more so than any other shoot or character. I would go home with 42 mosquito bites, weighed down by 100lb clothes and corsets.'

After Hell on Wheels, Dominique McElligott found even more fame with roles in Netflix's House of Cards and Prime Video's The Last Tycoon and The Boys.

Source: Irish Independent.