Actors Banned from a Country (and Why)

Entry bans and “persona non grata” rulings happen to actors more often than you might expect, usually after political controversies, national-security determinations, or immigration rules about past convictions. Some restrictions were formal government orders with set durations, others were cancellations or city-level sanctions that effectively barred appearances or screenings.

Below are documented cases with timeframes, official rationales where available, and contemporaneous reporting. Each item explains what triggered the restriction and how it was implemented—whether by a national security service, a city council vote, or immigration enforcement at the border.

Brad Pitt – China

After starring in ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, Pitt was widely reported to have faced a long stretch in which he couldn’t work or publicly promote projects in mainland China because of the film’s depiction of Tibet and Chinese forces; retrospective coverage summarizes that the fallout affected Pitt, co-star David Thewlis and director Jean-Jacques Annaud. The background is well-documented in regional reporting.

By November 2016, Pitt made a tightly controlled promotional appearance in Shanghai for ‘Allied’, described by the Associated Press and others as his first such event in China since the long-reported blacklist tied to ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, indicating the restriction had eased. Earlier, his brief 2013 splash on Sina Weibo also fueled speculation that access was shifting.

Selena Gomez – China

In April 2016, two planned dates on Gomez’s ‘Revival Tour’—Guangzhou and Shanghai—were canceled, with trade and Asia music press attributing the cancellations to photos she took with the Dalai Lama that circulated online. Industry outlet Pollstar reported the China cancellations “for nominally political reasons,” and AsiaLive365 likewise linked the scrapped shows to the Dalai Lama images.

Coverage at the time framed this within a broader pattern of China denying performances to Western artists perceived as supportive of Tibetan causes, though officials did not issue a public, permanent country entry ban specific to Gomez. Reports noted the show listings were removed and the China dates did not proceed.

Steven Seagal – Ukraine

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) barred Seagal from entering the country for five years in May 2017, formally labeling him a national-security threat. Major outlets published the SBU’s determination and the term of the entry ban, noting it followed his receipt of Russian citizenship.

Regional and U.S. reporting reiterated the five-year duration and cited the SBU’s rationale of “national security,” placing Seagal on a culture blacklist used during that period.

Gérard Depardieu – Ukraine

On July 29, 2015, Reuters reported that Ukraine had banned Depardieu from entering for five years, quoting the SBU and linking the move to comments suggesting support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The ban placed him among cultural figures restricted from entry during the conflict’s early years.

The action fit into Kyiv’s broader national-security and culture-sector blacklists following 2014, which targeted figures whose statements were viewed as endorsing Russian policy. International wires and regional media tracked his inclusion and the specified duration.

Russell Brand – Japan

In May 2011, Japanese authorities refused Brand’s entry at Tokyo’s Narita Airport and deported him the same day; contemporaneous wire reports attributed the decision to Japan’s immigration rules regarding past criminal convictions, citing comments from his then-wife Katy Perry and officials’ standard policy.

Multiple outlets echoed the same basis—previous criminal history—and described the sequence as detention at the airport followed by removal, in line with immigration practice rather than a bespoke lifetime ban.

Claire Danes – Philippines (Manila)

On September 29, 1998, Manila’s City Council voted 23–3 to declare Danes persona non grata and to ban her films from being shown in the city after interviews in which she made derogatory remarks about Manila; contemporaneous reports documented the vote tally and the screening ban.

Then-President Joseph Estrada publicly backed the council’s stance, saying she should not be allowed to set foot in the country, though the formal action was city-level in scope. AP-carried reports via CBS News recorded the declaration and the ban on screenings in Manila.

Have another verifiable case we should include? Share it in the comments and we’ll dig into the sources.