Actor Johnny Lewis portrayed Kip "Half-Sack" Epps in FX's action-drama series Sons of Anarchy. Given the nickname "Half-Sack" after losing a testicle while serving in Iraq, Kip was eager to join the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle gang. Throughout the show's seven seasons, the Sons of Anarchy gang committed various heinous crimes in the name of brotherhood.

As a prospective member, Half-Sack was usually relegated to doing menial tasks and grunt work. However, he got his hands dirty with the rest of them, committing crimes such as stealing an ambulance and taking bodies from a morgue -- at least for a short time. Here's why Lewis left the show in the Season 2 finale.

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​​How Half-Sack Died on Sons of Anarchy

Kip Epps gets ready to ride a motorcycle as he looks off in the distance

Half-Sack's time in Sons of Anarchy was short-lived. During Season 2, he became a true member of the club but was murdered shortly after. When returning to the home of Jax Teller in Season 2, Episode 13, "Na Trioblóidí," he was followed by Cameron Hayes -- a member of a paramilitary organization. Hayes threatened to kill Jax's young son, causing Half-Sack to attack the man to defend the child. But unfortunately, Hayes stabbed and killed him.

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Why Johnny Lewis Left Sons of Anarchy

Kip Epps is stood in front of a big grassy hill

Like his character, Johnny Lewis battled his inner demons. Kurt Sutter told Alan Sepinwall in 2009 that "Johnny wasn't happy on the show. Creatively, he really wanted out of his contract." In 2012, E! Online reported that Lewis had been found dead after attacking several people and murdering his landlady.

Los Angeles Magazine later detailed Lewis' history of psychiatric problems after suffering head trauma from a 2011 high-speed motorcycle accident. According to the report, Lewis refused multiple MRIs for the head injury or any kind of psychiatric treatment. His behavior changed and he was arrested three times between 2011 and 2012. The Associated Press reported that Lewis had been released from a Los Angeles County jail just five days before his death.

While Sons of Anarchy was inspired by Shakespearean tragedies, Lewis' situation was a real-life tragedy. Sutter tweeted that it was "a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who had lost his way...I am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown in his destructive path."

Sons of Anarchy is now streaming on Hulu.