R. Lee Ermey

Who is R. Lee Ermey?

Ronald Lee Ermey is an American actor, best known for his role as the austere Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He is a retired U.S. Marine 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 for the roles of authority figures, such as Mayor Tilman in the film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine, Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Jimmy Lee Farnsworth in Fletch Lives, Police Captain in Seven, plastic army men leader Sarge in the Toy Story films, and the Warden in SpongeBob SquarePants.

He has hosted two programs on the History Channel: Mail Call, in which he answered viewers' questions about various militaria both modern and historic; and Lock N' Load with R. Lee Ermey, which focused on the development of different types of weapons.