Hope this has not been covered off yet, but my favourite human in Hollywood falls squarely into this category.
Danny Trejo
A young Danny Trejo was in trouble, involved in gangs, locked up in prison for drugs. But he worked his way back into society, determined to give back for his early mistakes.
Danny volunteered as a sponsor for recovering addicts. One day he gets a call from someone he was looking out for who was determined that they were about to get back onto the coke. Danny offered to come over and talk them down. They said, “sure, come down to the movie studio where I am working.”
The studio was making Andrey Konchalovskiy’s film called Runaway Train starring Jon Voight and Eric Roberts. Danny turned up on set during a prison boxing scene, and offered some technical advice based on the fact that he’d been a boxer in prison in real life. Konchalovskiy kept him on to be a technical trainer for Eric Roberts, and as soon as they saw Trejo’s physique and presence insisted that he be in the movie.
Trejo with his signature horse-shoe moustache and tattooed body became a staple for movies through the 80s and 90s, particularly Robert Rodriguez’s wildly entertaining flicks and an outstanding turn alongside De Nero in Michael Mann’s spectacular Heat.
Despite his success having more imdb credits than any other actors, Trejo continues to volunteer, offering to appear free in student films, helping the homeless in Los Angeles and rescuing dogs.
A fabulous character actor, an even better human being. If there was a God, then He broke the mould after giving us Danny Trejo.