Danny Masterson getting pummeled by a Scientologist for making unwanted advances paints an action classic in an unintentional new light

One of the most troubling elements of Danny Masterson‘s conviction and prison sentence of 30 years is the volume of historical interviews and clips where his predatory behavior appeared to be bubbling just under the surface, to the extent it looked an awful lot like it was something of an open secret in the industry.

To that end, his one and only scene from John Woo’s undisputed action classic Face/Off has been painted in an entirely different and unintentional new light, especially given its inadvertent ties to Scientology, too. Playing the small-but-scumbag role of Karl, Masterson makes unwanted advances on Dominique Swain’s Jamie Archer after a date, which she clearly rejects from the outset.

Undeterred, he continues in his futile attempts before John Travolta (channeling Nicolas Cage channeling John Travolta) bursts out of the door of their family home and pulverizes him by dragging Karl out of the car, kicking him right where the sun don’t shine, prior to repeatedly slamming him against the windshield while offering a very severe warning.

Of course, Travolta is arguably the highest-profile Scientologist on the planet not named Tom Cruise, while Masterson himself remains a member of the church. When you couple that with the narrative driving force behind the latter trying to force himself upon a young woman, it completely alters how the scene plays through the lens of what we know now.

It’s the sort of coincidence that never could have been predicted, but it was inevitable it would end up going viral again given the circumstances.