Emile Hirsch: from 'Into the Wild' to a prison sentence

One moment of madness can alter the path of an actor or actress - taking them from stardom to oblivion. Such is the case of Emile Hirsch, star of films such as 'The Girl Next Door' and 'Into the Wild'.

Born in 1985 in Los Angeles, Emile Hirsch could see Hollywood pretty much from his window and it didn't take him long to get into it.

In 1996, when he was only 11 years old, he had already made his debut in 'Blood Cult'. And before the end of the century, Emile Hirsch had already been in series such as '3rd Rock from the Sun' (1997), 'Two of a Kind' (1999) and 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch' (1999).

Emile Hirsch's first breakthrough came in 2004, when he starred in 'The Girl Next Door', opposite Elisha Cuthbert.

A year later, he would get another important role as Jay Adams, in 'Lords of Dogtown' a film in which he co-stared with Heath Ledger.

His recognition in Hollywood came from the hand of Sean Penn in 'Into the Wild' (2007), where he received huge praise for his portrayal of Chris McCandless.

The film was very well received by critics and Emile Hirsch was the star of a film that also featured William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Catherine Keener, Hal Holbrook, Kristen Stewart and Vince Vaughn. It was the time to establish himself as a star - but fate had a hand to play.

Unfortunately he didn't know how to choose his next projects well. In fact, his next film as the star was 'Speed Racer: The Movie', 2008 by the Wachowski sisters.

He had no better luck with projects like 'Milk' (2008) - even though it worked well for Sean Penn - and 'Killer Joe' (2011). Emile Hirsch's career was stuttering and, although he never stopped working, he made little impact on Hollywood.

If 2007 was the positive turning point for Emile Hirsch, 2015 was the opposite. The actor assaulted producer Daniele Bernfeld in a venue in Utah.

It went wrong in January 2015, at Club Tao, as part of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. As reported at the time by E! News, the actor started insulting Daniele Bernfeld and ended up grabbing her by the neck, causing the producer to choke. Daniele Bernfeld even lost consciousness.

At the trial, the actor confessed to not remembering anything and to having drunk more than he should have that night, which was used by his lawyer, Robert Offer, in his defense.

In the end, Emile Hirsch was sentenced to 15 days in jail, a $5,000 fine and 90 days probation, plus 50 hours of community service. The actor also entered a rehabilitation center after the trial.

His career has followed a similar path as before, minor roles in inconsequential projects, with honourable exceptions such as 'Trollhunters', the Netflix animated series.

After Anton Yelchin's death, Emile Hirsch took over and voiced Jim Lake Jr, star of 'Trollhunters' one of Netflix's best animated series.

It was even more controversial when Emile Hirsch was chosen to play Jay Sebring, in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'.

When his signing on to the project was announced, Jameela Jamil did not hesitate to recall the incident that the actor had, three years earlier.

"Emile Hirsch strangled my tiny best friend until she passed out at a party in front of dozens of witnesses at the Sundance Film Festival (and was sentenced) but Tarantino just signed him for a movie. Intense case of white male privilege," she said in a tweet.

Emile Hirsch is still working, and trying to become the star he almost was in the past but the assault on Daniele Bernfeld will haunt him for the rest of his career.