Starring in more than fifty films between 1969 and 1978, Behrouz Vossoughi has remained an icon of masculine stardom years after his forced retirement from Iranian cinema. A pillar of both Filmfārsi and the alternative modes of filmmaking, Vossoughi’s portrayal of a rebellious young man was doubly identifiable to the audience because it both signaled the failure of traditional modes of patriarchy in Iranian society and sanctified the failure of rebellion against power. Tracing the discussions of Vossoughi’s stardom before and after the revolution by focusing on both his publicized off-screen life and the Iranian cultural policies since 1979, this paper further argues that Vossoughi has remained a cult star not only because of his curtailed career but also because he embodied the culture of rebelling against societal norms without offering a viable alternative.