10 Actors Who Died As Heroes (& Then Lived To Become Villains)

5. Mel Gibson

Died A Hero - Braveheart

For a while there, Mel Gibson was the thinking man's action hero, starring in action movies that weren't quite as muscle-bound and empty-headed as those of Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Van Damme. The difference was always that he added way more character work and depth, which is why he ended up being perfectly suited to Braveheart. If you didn't pay too close attention to his wandering accent, anyway.

Gibson makes William Wallace sympathetic but complex enough that he's not just a patriotic caricature and his death at the end at the hands of the villainous English is enough to make you want to rise up against the oppressors even now. And even if you're actually English too.

But Became The Villain - Machete Kills

Having lost his way a little, Gibson returned to the screen with a darker edge, seemingly intent on a bit of a make-over as a villain. First came Machete Kills, an exploitation delight born out of a joke so ridiculous that Gibson clearly had a riot making it. He plays Luther Voz, a Star Wars fanatic whose plans would surely have interested LucasFilm's legal department were this not a parody.

And then Gibson followed that up as the big bad in The Expendables 3 - completely with the incredibly terrible/brilliant name Conrad Stonehouse. He's done one "normal" role since then (as dictionary legend James Murray), but his cinematic rehab seems to be taking in more bad guys and rogues these days.