Actors can make villains look cool. But what happens when the people behind those performances turn out to be far worse than any character they ever played? These are performers who crossed a line. Violent crimes. Cults. Child exploitation. Murder. The darkest headlines. If you ever needed to see the dark side of fame, here is a list of actors who turned out to have some very serious criminal charges. Are they villains? We’ll let you decide.
Joe Son
Joe Son popped up as Random Task in Austin Powers. Off camera, his life was darker. He was convicted for his role in a 1990 kidnapping and sexual assault case and later killed his cellmate in 2011.
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby built a friendly legacy as “America’s Dad.” Everything changed when decades of sexual assault allegations surfaced. A 2018 conviction sent him to prison before his release was ordered because of a legal issue with the case. The dad sweaters just don’t look the same anymore.
Michael Jace
Michael Jace played a cop on The Shield, then became a headline. In 2014, he murdered his wife and got 40 years to life. Audiences used to watch him chase criminals. Now, he’s become one.
Mark Salling
Mark Salling went from Glee fame to a disturbing criminal case. Investigators found tens of thousands of child sexual abuse files. He pleaded guilty and awaited sentencing. Instead, in 2018, he died by suicide.
Danny Masterson
Danny Masterson, once a staple on That ’70s Show, now serves 30 years to life after a 2023 conviction for raping two women in the early 2000s. Scientology couldn’t protect him. Masterson won’t see a basement again unless it’s below a prison yard.
Ryan Grantham
Ryan Grantham, known for Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Riverdale, shocked the country when he murdered his mother in 2020. At 24, he received life in prison, with parole eligibility set for 2036. And just like that, his child star roles vanished overnight.
Jared Fogle
Jared Fogle, once Subway’s advertising face, dipped into acting with tiny roles before his public image imploded. He admitted possessing child sexual abuse material and paying for sex with minors. A 15-year sentence followed.
O.J. Simpson
O.J. Simpson nearly played the Terminator before football fame took over. In 1994, his trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman dominated every screen. He was acquitted criminally, later found liable in civil court. Public opinion often treats him like a villain the jury didn’t convict.
Paul Bateson
Paul Bateson worked in radiology and briefly appeared in The Exorcist in 1973, playing… a radiology tech. Life took a turn when he was convicted of murdering a film critic in 1979. Crime documentaries later linked him to other unsolved cases, though prosecutors never proved it. Hollywood horror looks tame by comparison.
Victor Salva
Victor Salva directed Jeepers Creepers, yet his history behind the camera tells the real horror story. He served time after filming the abuse of a 12-year-old actor on Clownhouse. When Hollywood hired him again, many questioned the industry’s moral compass. Monsters don’t always hide in creature features.
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Depardieu, a French icon for decades, faced serious accusations in recent years. In 2025, a court convicted the now-76-year-old for sexually assaulting two women and gave him an 18-month suspended sentence. Fans once praised his larger-than-life screen presence. The headlines now overshadow his filmography.
Kevin Guthrie
Kevin Guthrie, recognizable from The Terror and Get Duked!, was convicted of sexual assault in Scotland in 2021. He served two years after losing his appeal. Careers in film can be short. His ended quicker than most.
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski directed Rosemary’s Baby and secured his place in cinema history. That legacy coexists with his 1977 conviction involving a minor before he fled the United States to avoid further sentencing. Awards still came. So did the outrage.
Johnny Lewis
Johnny Lewis, once rising on Sons of Anarchy, unraveled fast. In 2012, he killed his 81-year-old landlady and her cat before falling from a roof and dying at 28. Investigators believed substance and mental health struggles fueled his actions.
Shelley Malil
Shelley Malil brought laughs in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Real life turned grim in 2008 when he stabbed his girlfriend more than twenty times. She survived. He got life with the possibility of parole and walked free in 2018.
Lillo Brancato
Lillo Brancato starred alongside Robert De Niro in A Bronx Tale. Years later, a 2005 burglary led to an off-duty officer’s death. He avoided a murder conviction but received prison time for attempted burglary. Now sober and acting again, he’s a rare case of Hollywood redemption starting behind bars.
Allison Mack
Allison Mack moved from Smallville fan favorite to NXIVM recruiter. Prosecutors said she helped lure women into the group led by Keith Raniere. She pleaded guilty to racketeering charges, cooperated, and received three years. Mack recently opened up to Michael Rosenbaum about being drawn into NXIVM for 12 years.
Lori Loughlin
Lori Loughlin went from Fuller House to full-on legal trouble after a college admissions scam exposed fake rowing credentials for her daughters. She served two months in 2020 while her husband got a longer sentence. The Hallmark movies stopped calling.
Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst’s story twists hard. Kidnapped in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army, she later joined them in a bank robbery. A court convicted her in 1976, but she served only two years before receiving a pardon. She acted in some films later, though most people remember the headlines.
Shannon Richardson
Shannon Richardson had tiny TV roles before ricin letters put her face everywhere. Prosecutors said she tried to frame her estranged husband by mailing poison to President Obama and others. She pled guilty in 2014 and got 18 years.
Zara Phythian
Zara Phythian, known for stunt work and a role in Doctor Strange, was convicted in the UK for child sex offenses involving a teenage girl. Sentenced in 2022 to eight years, she and her husband faced damning testimony.
Isaiah Stokes
Isaiah Stokes, seen in Blue Bloods and Power, now faces 40 years to life for murdering Tyrone Jones in 2021. Prosecutors said he fired 11 shots in Queens over a personal dispute. Television crime dramas hired him for intensity. True crime courts now decide his future.
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