Todd Lawson Latourette, a bit actor who's appeared on the TV shows Better Call Saul and Longmire, has admitted to cutting off his own arm and lying about being a wounded veteran to help his acting career.
In an interview with Albuquerque's KOB-4 TV, Latourette, who is bipolar, said he cut off his right forearm with a Skilsaw and cauterized it himself after going off his medications.
He then pretended to have suffered the wound in combat. He said his plan worked and casting directors started booking him for roles. He added, "They trusted me that I was exactly who I said I was, that I was a war veteran. I was hired because I lied."
But eventually he felt had to confess. He said, "I was dishonorable. I'm killing my career by doing this. If anyone thinks this was for personal edification, that's not the case. I'm ousting myself from the New Mexico film industry. And gladly so, just to say what I've said."
Latourette also appeared in the 2008 Toby Keith movie Beer for My Horses and in the 2009 George Clooney film The Men Who Stare at Goats.