The Reason Mandy Patinkin Left Criminal Minds After Season 2

Just one year after that scathing assessment, an introspective Patinkin took a very different tone with the New York Times Magazine. "I behaved abominably," the actor admitted. By this time, it was common knowledge that Patinkin went "AWOL" after season 2 of Criminal Minds; without providing any notice to the show's producers or cast, he simply disappeared. An executive producer at the time described him as "the father who goes out for a carton of milk and then just never comes home."

Ashlee Lapine, who directed Patinkin on Criminal Minds, told the magazine that Patinkin was a handful. "He's not neurotic, oddly enough," she said. "He's myopic. He would lose himself so much in the work, and he was playing an obsessive, which goes hand in hand." Patinkin's propensity to get lost in a role likely worked against him playing the compulsive Gideon. From all the statements given by producers and Patinkin himself in the aftermath of the departure, it sounds like the demands of that role in particular were having a serious impact on the actor's well-being. That's not a defense for ghosting the show, but it is an explanation.

While it sounds like Patinkin stands by his moral stance against Criminal Minds, there are likely a few things about his exit that he wishes he could have done better, which is a feeling we can all relate to. If you happen to be an extremely talented, famous actor, there's a lesson here: before you accept a gig, you perhaps should make sure that it's one you actually want.