Happy Birthday, Gunny

[kham]

Casting R. Lee Ermey as Gunny Hartman was probably a no-brainer, but still was perfect for the movie

[PM2K]

Yes! Love this guy! Love that role, too.... the man's an artist... wove a tapestry of insults and profanity which is truly spellbinding.

[rhum]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RNcFs-JwOQ

[bbjohn]

Here's a question for all you ex-military people: who played the better drill instructor, R. Lee Ermey or Louis Gossett Jr. in "An Officer and a Gentleman'? I'm curious what people who experienced the real thing have to say about these roles, given that Gossett won an Academy Award. Any thoughts?

For what it's worth, my brother, who's ex-Navy, said he liked them both. He has an interesting take on the Marines, and I learned from him what the terms "Jarhead" and "Swabby" mean.

-Big Bad John

[kham]

The Marines would be the ones to say, but the Gunny wasn't so much acting as just redoing his old job so he'd get my vote

[PM2K]

The Marines would be the ones to say, but the Gunny wasn't so much acting as just redoing his old job so he'd get my vote

Ditto!

[Mynock]

Ermey was actually hired by the director of FMJ to train the guy who was going to play the drill instructor. He ended up being better at it then the actor so they put him in the movie. He also improvised most of his lines. Hope he had a good one.