"What's your major malfunction, Private Pyle?"U.S. President George W. Bush (front) talks to actor and veteran R. Lee Remey (R) at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) national convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 22, 2005. Bush underscored his policy of keeping U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq until the country establishes a stable government. REUTERS/Jeff Mitchell
NOTE: Reuters misspelled his name it IS R. Lee Ermey.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000388/R. Lee Ermey
Date of birth (location)
24 March 1944
Emporia, Kansas, USA
Very talented character actor known for his military roles, R. Lee Ermey was in the Marine Corps for eleven years. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and his Marine service included one and a half tours in Vietnam. After injuries forced him to retire from military service, he moved to the Phillipines, enrolling in the University of Manila, where he studied Criminology and Drama. He appeared in several Phillipino films, before being cast as a Helicopter pilot in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Due to his Vietnam experiences, Coppola also utilized him as a technical advisor. He got a featured role in Sidney Furie's The Boys in Company C, Playing A drill instructor. Ermey worked with Furie again in Purple Hearts. However, Ermey got his most famous, (or infamous) role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, for which Ermey was nominated for a Golden Globe. Ermey did win the best supporting actor award from The Boston Society of Film Critics. Since then, Ermey has appeared in numerous character roles in such films as Leaving Las Vegas, Se7en, and Dead Man Walking. Ermey, however, prefers comedy to drama, and and has a comedic role in Saving Silverman. Ronald Lee Ermey continues to be one of the best character actors to date, and you can bet that when his name appears in a movies credits, he is going to be top notch in his role.