History Creator / RLeeErmey

** Another episode of ''Lock n' Load'' had Ermey mow down several jars of gumballs with an uzi, prefacing the destruction by saying "[[FelonyMisdemeanor I HATE Gumballs, they cause tooth decay!!]]"

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Although known for playing sadistic drill sergeants, in real life he was significantly nicer and MUCH more mellow.

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Drill instructors are supposed to be mean for a living, however Ermey was quite genial in real life when he wasn’t putting on the persona.

* TheDeterminator: Was once in a car accident which knocked him off the road. He flashed his lights for hours until someone found him.

* ''Disney/ToyStory'' (1995) - Sarge (voice)
** ''Disney/ToyStory2'' (1999)
** ''Disney/ToyStory3'' (2010)

Having appeared in the ''Film/TheBoysInCompanyC'' (playing -- what else? -- a Marine drill instructor) and served as a technical advisor to Creator/FrancisFordCoppola for ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', Ermey became a pop culture icon with his role in Creator/StanleyKubrick's ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', which had him play a foul-mouthed drill instructor whose sadistic training methods end up driving one recruit insane and lead to his death. Incidentally, his scenes are one of the few times Kubrick ever allowed improvisation in any of his films.

The role made him the poster child for the trope DrillSergeantNasty and landed him work in other films (most notably ''Film/{{Se7en}}'', where he ironically plays against type as a rather mellowed out police captain), as well as a slew of voice-over work due to his distinct gruff voice (such as Sarge, the leader of the Army Men in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''), and ultimately a hosting job for several [[Creator/TheHistoryChannel History Channel]] military-themed shows (''Mail Call'' and ''Lock n' Load with R. Lee Ermey''). He's also guest-starred as the abusive ex-Drill Sergeant Nasty father of the title character of ''Series/{{House}}''.

Gunnery Sergeant Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 - April 15, 2018) was a former United States Marine Corps drill instructor and UsefulNotes/VietnamWar veteran turned actor/media personality.

Gunnery Sergeant Ronald Lee Ermey (Born March 24, 1944) is a former United States Marine Corps drill instructor and UsefulNotes/VietnamWar veteran turned actor/media personality.

Gunnery Sergeant Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 - April 15, 2018) was a former United States Marine Corps drill instructor and UsefulNotes/VietnamWar veteran turned actor/media personality.

Gunnery Sergeant Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944) is a former United States Marine Corps drill instructor and UsefulNotes/VietnamWar veteran turned actor/media personality.

Having appeared in the film ''The Boys in Company C'' (playing -- what else? -- a Marine drill instructor) and served as a technical advisor to Creator/FrancisFordCoppola for ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', Ermey became a pop culture icon with his role in Creator/StanleyKubrick's ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', which had him play a foul-mouthed drill instructor whose sadistic training methods end up driving one recruit insane and lead to his death. Incidentally, his scenes are one of the few times Kubrick ever allowed improvisation in any of his films.

* AscendedExtra: Originally brought on to ''Full Metal Jacket'' for accuracy advice, his demonstrations of how to do a DrillSergeantNasty were so good that he was cast in his famed role.

* AdamWesting: In ''Saving Silverman''.

Gunnery Sergeant Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944) is a former United States Marine Corps drill instructor and VietnamWar veteran turned actor/media personality.

The role made him the poster child for the trope DrillSergeantNasty and landed him work in other films (most notably ''Film/{{Se7en}}'', where he ironically plays against type as a rather mellowed out police captain), as well as a slew of voice-over work due to his distinct gruff voice (such as Sarge, the leader of the Army Men in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''), and ultimately a hosting job for several [[TheHistoryChannel History Channel]] military-themed shows (''Mail Call'' and ''Lock n' Load with R. Lee Ermey''). He's also guest-starred as the abusive ex-Drill Sergeant Nasty father of the title character of ''Series/{{House}}''.

* {{Badass}}: Ermey was an established U.S. Marine drill instructor at age 21.

Gunnery Sergeant '''Ronald Lee Ermey''' (born March 24, 1944) is a former United States Marine Corps drill instructor and VietnamWar veteran turned actor/media personality.

* TypeCasting: Perhaps the UrExample. Seriously, if he's not playing a drill instructor, he's playing someone who ''acts'' like a drill instructor.
** A minor Against Type role was that of a phony televangelist in Fletch Lives.
** Another Against Type role was the mellow, soft-spoken police captain in ''Film/{{Se7en}}''.

** To the point of TypeCasting.
** Ironically, despite the TypeCasting as a DrillSergeantNasty, he's actually a NiceGuy in RealLife, and can be very approachable, and conversational. However, this is usually the case with most Drill Sergeants, as explained in the trope page.

* ThrowItIn: A good bit of the lines from Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, in ''Full Metal Jacket'', were adlibbed by Ermey, who was one of the few actors that Kubrick allowed to go off-script when shooting scenes.
-->I'LL BET YOU'RE THE KIND OF GUY WHO WOULD FUCK A PERSON IN THE ASS ''AND NOT EVEN HAVE THE GOD-DAMNED COMMON COURTESY TO GIVE HIM A REACH-AROUND!!''
** Note: He had to explain what a "reach around" was to Kubrick, who stopped filming the scene early to ask what it was, after Ermey ad-libbed the line. After it was explained, Kubrick laughed and said that he was going to keep it in the movie.

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: He can be downright mellow and soft-spoken when he's not in DrillSergeantNasty mode. Stanley Kubrick initially thought Ermey was too nice to play Hartman in ''Full Metal Jacket'', prior to his aforementioned audition. For that matter, in the bloopers that showed after ''Mail Call'', he often came across as a [[BumblingDad bumbling old dad type]] when he flubbed his lines, albeit a bumbling old dad with a ''very'' salty mouth.
** Incidentally, this is fairly typical of mainy DrillSergeantNasty types in RealLife. The military typically tries to find well-balanced soldiers who can ''pretend'' to be deranged sadists in order to properly motivate and train recruits without actually harming them. It can be disconcerting to meet an instructor after training and find that they're actually a jolly, cheerful person when not wearing the campaign hat.

* BigOlEyebrows: Just look at 'em!
* CastTheExpert: How he got his most famous role.
* {{Defictionalization}}: Being cast as a Gunnery Sergeant (E-7) in his iconic role despite having retired as a Staff Sergeant (E-6) always caused a bit of awkwardness when people would inevitably refer to him as the former. 15 years later the Marine Corps graciously offered to remedy the situation with an unprecedented post-retirement promotion to Gunnery Sergeant due to his continued service promoting the Corps and its values.

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** Incidentally, this is fairly typical of mainy DrillSergeantNasty types in RealLife. The military typically tries to find well-balanced soldiers who can ''pretend'' to be deranged sadists in order to properly motivate and train recruits without actually harming them. It can be disconcerting to meet an instructor after training and find that they're actually a bubbly and cheerful person when not wearing the campaign hat.

** Incidentally, this is fairly typical of mainy DrillSergeantNasty types in RealLife. The military typically tries to find well-balanced soldiers who can ''pretend'' to be deranged sadists in order to properly motivate and train recruits without actually harming them. It can be disconcerting to meet an instructor after training and find that they're actually a bubbly and cheerful person when not wearing the hat.