Titus Makin Jr. rose to fame after portraying Jackson West on ABC’s procedural drama, The Rookie. Despite becoming a fan favorite, however, the actor decided to step down from the role in 2021, with his character being killed off at the start of season four. So, what was the reason behind Titus’ shock departure? Keep reading for all the details…
Ahead of The Rookie’s season four premiere, showrunner Alexi Hawley had already confirmed that Titus would not return to the series. He told TV Line: “What I can say is that Titus [Makin] was not coming back to the show, so we needed to do the best that we could to honor the character who’s been so primally a part of the show.”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Titus previously revealed that he’d already considered leaving the show after learning about the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020. He explained: “A lot of people are finding a voice, and I found that for myself, where I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’ve been complacent.’ I woke up one morning and I was watching the news, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t go play a cop on a show and not talk about the fact that I’m a Black cop.’ My character hadn’t addressed any of that.”
Titus continued: “I had that conversation with Alexi [Hawley], our showrunner, and he was extremely gracious and he totally understood everything I was saying. I did come to that point where I was like, ‘If you want to write me out, I politely receive that. I would rather be written out than ignore the reality and not be able to tell the story.'”
Following his departure from the show, Titus has since gone on to star in an episode of NCIS: Hawai’i and he’s also appeared in the short films Aliens on Halloween and Pool Service, Inc.
