A "womanising" high-profile Hollywood actor has HIV.

A Hollywood actor with a long list of very famous exes is reportedly HIV positive.

The superstar in question has not been named, but The Sun, the British newspaper reporting the story, is aware of his identity.

According to the paper, the actor’s previous sexual partners include an award-winning actress, a religious movie star, a well-known media personality, a Hollywood type with a chequered past, a TV star and a glamour model.

“It has now become common knowledge that this star is HIV positive, something he has known for a number of years,” a source told The Sun.

“His lawyers are bracing for the threat of potential action.

“The reality is that if he’s knowingly put women at risk then that’s disgusting and it’s only a matter of time before that becomes public.”

The Sun reports that friends of the man have encouraged him to go public about his condition but he hasn’t because he’s afraid he will come to be defined by the illness instead of his career.

Radar Online, which first reported the story earlier this month, reports that the actor is “middle-aged” and has known about his condition for two years.

The actor has “previously admitted to engaging in tattooing, injecting drugs and having sex with prostitutes” reports Radar, all of which could have been the transmission method.

Hollywood is reportedly “gripped with fear” which sounds a bit extreme. How many people can this man have slept with?

If the actor, who is straight, did not disclose his condition to his sexual partners, there could be women in Hollywood unaware that they have contracted HIV.

“He’s also concerned a lot of exes and previous one-night stands could look to sue,” said the source.

Despite huge leaps and bounds in the treatment of HIV and AIDS, there’s still a huge stigma attached to the illness.

An HIV diagnosis used to spell death, but these days it’s able to be kept at bay with lifestyle choices and medications and sufferers lead normal, healthy lives.

Terror reigned in the 1980s after HIV decimated gay communities, and the disease has affected the lives of many famous people, including actor Rock Hudson, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, NWA rapper Eazy-E, model Gia Carangi and Liberace.

Despite much evidence to the contrary, many still believe HIV and AIDS are only a risk to homosexuals.

NBA star Magic Johnson has done much to combat this attitude since revealing he was HIV positive in 1991.

“Sometimes you’re a little naïve and you think, ‘Only gay people can get it, it’s not going to happen to me.’ And here I am saying that it can happen to anybody. Even me, Magic Johnson.”