March 26, 2024

5 Movie Stars Who Have Gone to Prison

From Mark Wahlberg to Robert Downey Jr., here are some movie stars who have been behind bars. By: Kritchanon Tan Kian Wei

Some actors come from dark backgrounds we could never imagine. Movie stars are humans too, and sometimes, they make mistakes so big, they land behind bars. Ever wondered who some of these stars are? Read on to find out.

1. Mark Wahlberg

If you’ve watched Ted (2012) or Uncharted (2022), you may be familiar with the 52-year-old actor.

When Wahlberg was 16, he got into a fight with a man named Johnny Trinh, which left Trinh injured in the left eye. Wahlberg was sentenced to two years in prison for attempted murder, but only served 45 days of the sentence due to him being a minor. He has since made amends with Trinh.

2. Tim Allen

You may be familiar with Allen, who voices Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story movies.

At age 25 in 1978, Allen was arrested at the Kalamazoo / Battle Creek International Airport in Michigan with over a pound of cocaine found in his luggage. The Home Improvement (1991 - 1999) star was sent to prison for two years and four months. 

Fortunately, Allen went on to do great things, soaring to infinity and beyond.

3. Wesley Snipes

Older audiences may recognise Snipes, who is known for playing the lead in Marvel’s Blade trilogy from 1998 to 2004.

In 2008, Snipes was fined $5 million and sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion. After his appeal was rejected in 2010, he began his jail term that December and was released in April 2013.

4. Mike Tyson

Better known for his boxing career, Tyson has also starred in several movies, like The Hangover (2009) and Ip Man 3 (2015).

Already a professional boxer then, in 1992, Tyson was convicted of raping then 18-year-old Desiree Washington, a beauty pageant contestant, at an Indianapolis hotel. Tyson was then sentenced to six years in prison and four years of probation, though he would serve less than half of the prison sentence before being released on parole in March 1995. Tyson resumed boxing afterwards before retiring in 2005. Today, Tyson is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.

5. Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. needs no introduction. During the 1990s however, Downey was rock bottom. As a former drug addict, he was arrested in 1996 for possession of heroin, cocaine and an unloaded .357-caliber Magnum. He was given three years of probation and mandatory drug testing. The next year, Downey skipped a court-ordered drug test and spent nearly four months in prison.

Afterwards, he skipped yet another drug test and was sentenced to three years of prison in 1999, though he only served 15 months for that sentence. However, four months post-release, he was arrested again for alleged cocaine and Valium possession and being under the influence of drugs. And in April 2000, Downey was arrested once more after the Los Angeles police found him wandering in an alleyway.

After many repeated arrests, Downey eventually became an extremely successful actor. And it all began in 2008, with Iron Man.

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