R. Lee Ermey

Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944), known professionally as R. Lee Ermey, is an American actor, best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He is a former United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and an honorary gunnery sergeant; during his tenure in the U.S. Marine Corps, he served as a drill instructor. Ermey has often been typecast in authority figure roles, such as Mayor Tilman in the film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine, Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Jimmy Lee Farnsworth in Fletch Lives, a police captain in Se7en, plastic army men leader Sarge in the Toy Story films, Lt. "Tice" Ryan in Rocket Power, the warden in SpongeBob SquarePants, and John House, Gregory House's father in House. Ermey has hosted two programs on the History Channel: Mail Call, in which he answered viewers' questions about various military issues both modern and historic; and Lock N' Load with R. Lee Ermey, which concerned the development of different types of weapons. He also hosted Gunny Time on the Outdoor channel.