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Thomas Gibson played Aaron Hotchner on “Criminal Minds” for the show’s first 11 seasons, becoming a seemingly indispensable part of the cast. Hotchner was part of some of the best episodes of “Criminal Minds”<\/a> which made his departure in the 12th season somewhat of a surprise for fans. What caused the abrupt change-up? Well, this one didn’t come down to that perennial excuse for actors departing projects: “creative differences.” According to reports, Gibson had a volatile personality that led to multiple on-set incidents, all of which culminated in one particular altercation between him and a writer\/producer that resulted in the former “Dharma & Greg” star being fired from the show.<\/p>\n When “Criminal Minds” debuted on CBS back in 2005, it did so with a considerable ensemble that included Mandy Patinkin as FBI Senior Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon, Lola Glaudini as FBI Supervisory Special Agent Elle Greenaway, and Gibson as FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Behavioral Analysis Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. As head of the FBI’s criminal profiler team, Hotchner was an invaluable resource, which was also true of Gibson himself, as evidenced by his 11-season tenure \u2014 much longer than his co-stars Patinkin, who left “Criminal Minds” after two seasons<\/a>, and Glaudini, who left mid-way through season 2.<\/p>\n However, when the 12th season began in 2016, Gibson was out. His final appearance came in season 12, episode 2, but he appeared in a few flashbacks after that, his last one being in the season 15 finale, “And in the End…” Hotchner’s absence was explained as the character resigning and entering Witness Protection. Sadly, it seems Gibson was the cause of much tumult behind the scenes which came to a head when he was reportedly involved in a “violent incident.”<\/p>\n