Arguably among the most unique movie stars of all time, Nick Nolte comes across as a rough and tough guy more often than not. Based on that image and Nolte’s undeniable acting skills, he has managed to be a major movie star for decades. That is even more impressive once you learn that one of the biggest movie stars of all time, Julia Roberts, couldn’t stand working with Nolte. After all, having a powerful enemy like that could have torpedoed his career.

Given the fact that Nick Nolte has spent years in the spotlight, it certainly seems like the world should know all about the most dramatic aspects of his life. Despite that, the truth of the matter is that virtually nobody seems to know that before Nolte became famous, he was convicted of an extremely serious crime.

Related: Julia Roberts Was Horrible To This Actor, According To Her

Nolte’s Memorable Crime

Even though Nick Nolte once committed a serious crime that almost everyone doesn’t know about, a lot of people are aware of another time the actor tangled with the police. In 2002, Nolte was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after he was pulled over in Malibu, California. When Nolte was put in cuffs and taken to the police station, he had to pose for a mugshot that would go down in history.

After internet users got their first glimpse of Nolte’s incredible 2002 mugshot, the image quickly went viral. While a lot of people had fun mocking the image, the situation was far from a laughing matter for Nolte. After all, Nolte sought counseling in the days that followed his arrest, and then he went on to pleaded no contest to charges of driving under the influence. Ultimately sentenced to three years probation, Nolte was also ordered to undergo alcohol and drug counseling with random testing required.

Related: How Did Fans Forget All About Bella Hadid's DUI?

Nolte Gets In Big Trouble

During the 60s, Nick Nolte got himself in serious trouble with the police. While it is unclear when exactly this happened since Wikipedia claims that he was arrested in 1965 and The Hill lists the year as 1961, the important thing is that the charges Nolte was facing were very serious.

When America was still embroiled in the Vietnam War, some young men wanted to acquire draft cards that they could use to prove their age to buy things that were limited to adults. Clearly aware of that fact, Nolte apparently saw that situation as an opportunity to make money. After all, Nolte began selling fake draft cards. Of course, it is never legal to create, have, or sell counterfeited government documents like that.

Whatever money Nick Nolte initially made selling fake documents, all of his profits quickly dried up and then some. After all, once he was put on trial for selling fake documents and convicted, Nolte was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine. Amazingly enough, Nolte was also sentenced to 45 years in prison which would have meant that he would have missed out on his years as a movie star if he was behind bars that long. Fortunately, Nolte caught a major break since the judge suspended his prison sentence.

Related: 10 Reality Stars Who've Done Time In Jail (& Why)

Other Repercussions

Even though Nick Nolte never had to spend time in prison, that doesn’t mean that his criminal past hasn’t affected his life. For example, when he spoke to a futuremovies.co.uk reporter in 2008, he revealed that The Enquirer once tried to blackmail Nolte once they learned about his conviction.

“My manager got a call from The Enquirer saying, ‘We’re going to expose this and ruin his career or we want to year’s worth of interviews.’ My manager called me straight away, ‘You’re going to be destroyed. You’ve got to give a year’s worth of interviews…’ But I hung up to think about it, called Rona and went on her show to explain everything live on air: ‘In 1965, I sold counterfeit documents and was given a 45-year jail sentence and a $75,000 fine.’ It defused the situation completely.”

In addition to the stress of having his career threatened, Nolte missed out on two things he cared about. First off, Nolte reportedly felt like it was his duty to fight in Vietnam at the time so he felt incomplete because his felony precluded him from serving. On top of that, while talking to The Hill in the run-up to the 2016 American Presidential election, Nolte talked about wanting to vote for Hillary Clinton. However, because he is a convicted felon, Nolte hadn’t voted in fifty years. Still, in 2016 Nolte was going to try to register to vote since he’d been told that his record was supposed to be wiped since he committed his crime as a teen.

Next: Fans Rant About Wasted Kanye West Votes, As Kris Jenner Posts About Counting Every One