Well here’s a strange and unfortunate bit of news that, while perhaps somewhat tabloid-y, seems like it deserves to be mentioned nonetheless. TMZ is reporting this week that actor Nick Stahl (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Sin City, Carnivale) has gone missing. His wife filed a missing person report on Monday, fearing for his well-being and suspecting that he was using drugs. He had supposedly been hanging out in the Skid Row area of Downtown Los Angeles recently, and back in February he had also been arrested for failing to pay a taxi driver. While a Hollywood star using drugs is nothing new, what’s weird in this case is that for years there has been talk of a Terminator-related “curse”, with bad things befalling every single actor who has ever played John Connor. Everyone, that is, except for Nick Stahl. Up until now, he had been the only actor to escape its clutches, but sadly, it appears that the machines may have finally caught up with him as well.

Stahl’s career has not been in the best of shape as of late. Most recently he had been appearing in a lot of direct to DVD and low budget Canadian movies including Mirrors 2, Afghan Luke and 388 Arletta Avenue, as well as a few TV appearances here and there. I’m not quite sure why he wasn’t able to land any decent roles after Carnivale ended.

The so-called John Connor curse has previously affected Edward Furlong, who fell on hard times after Terminator 2: Judgment Day, even coming close to death due to a heroin overdose in 2001. Thomas Dekker, who played Connor on the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, was arrested in 2009 for DUI after allegedly hitting a cyclist. As for Christian Bale, well, everyone knows about the leaked audio rant from the set of Terminator Salvation. Either way, let’s hope Stahl turns up alive and well and overcomes these problems so that we can keep begging HBO for a Carnivale movie!