Josh Charles opens up about the lasting emotional impact of his departure from The good wifeadmitting that he wasn’t fully prepared for how strongly fans would react to the death of his character, Will Gardner.
More than a decade later, the response continues to haunt him, reminding him of the deep connection viewers formed with the show and its characters.
In an interview published by The Hollywood Reporter On January 15, Charles reflected on his departure from the legal drama in 2014.
While he was involved in the decision to leave the series during its fifth season, he said the magnitude of the audience reaction took him by surprise.
“I knew it would be a surprise, but the impact and response was such that I honestly wasn’t completely prepared for it,” the 54-year-old shared.
“You live in these bubbles and you forget that, my God, there are a lot of people watching this who are interested in the show. Sometimes you forget.”
The actor explained that the experience made him truly appreciate the power of television storytelling.
He described how the audience not only watches the characters, but emotionally invests in them and closely follows their journeys.
That realization, he said, was both humbling and eye-opening, and reinforced why the stories are so important to viewers.
Charles starred The good wife from its premiere in September 2009 to its unexpected departure in 2014, but the show’s influence has not faded.
According to the actor, fans still regularly reach out to share how his character’s death affected them.
“Every day I have people texting me or coming up to me. ‘I just saw this for the first time.’ ‘I just saw this again and I started sobbing again.’ ‘It was like watching a friend die.’ It’s a strange thing to experience, but I’m very proud of it,” he said.
Looking back, Charles said the goal was always to create characters that people would really care about.
“At the end of the day, you’re trying to build characters that people care about, that they connect with. And I think people did that with him,” he added.
He also reflected fondly on his time working with creators Robert and Michelle King, saying that he entered the series not knowing what to expect, but left with a deep appreciation and love for the experience.
