Occupation: Adult film director

Relationships: Missy Armitage

Appearances: Season 2

Who’d Play Him: Julian McMahon

The Director of Other People’s Nightmares: Joel Armitage was a sleazy pornographic filmmaker whose willingness to accept almost any job placed him inside some of the darkest schemes surrounding the Blackthorne and Rydell families. Operating from an office where exploitation was treated as entertainment, Joel had little concern for the lives damaged by what he filmed.

Will Thomerson hired Joel to punish Heather Rydell after she seduced him in an effort to obtain valuable movie rights. Believing that she was attending an audition arranged by Will, Heather went to Joel’s office, where she was drugged and filmed having sex with two men while unable to consent. She awoke the following morning in a hotel room with a copy of the videotape and no clear memory of what had happened. The assault left her traumatized, withdrawn, and struggling with blackouts.

Joel’s involvement came to light after Philip Whitacre boasted to Jordan Rydell about appearing in the film. Enraged by what had been done to his daughter, Jordan tracked Joel down with Stormy Blackthorne. Confronted by the two men, Joel quickly confessed that Will had hired him and insisted he knew nothing beyond the assignment. His willingness to surrender Will’s name showed that loyalty mattered little to him once his own safety was threatened.

Joel later became connected to another of Will’s crimes. After abducting Brooke and James’s infant son, Michael, Will apparently arranged for the baby to be placed with Joel and his wife. While searching Will’s records for possible adoptive families, Ethan discovered the Armitage address. He arrived at Joel’s home and saw Joel’s wife pushing Michael in a stroller, finally locating the child after months of uncertainty.

Realizing he had been discovered, Joel fled. Ethan pursued him, determined to learn the truth and recover Michael. During the chase, Joel ran into the street and was struck by a car while attempting to escape. His death prevented him from revealing the full extent of Will’s arrangement, but Ethan had already found the clue that mattered most: Michael was alive and within reach of his family.