10 Movies That Dedicated Incredible Sequences To Their Actors
7. Full Metal Jacket - R. Lee Ermey
R. Lee Ermey was originally hired to work on Stanley Kubrick's classic war movie as a technical adviser for the role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, initially intended to be played by actor Tim Colceri.
But Ermey ended up playing Hartman himself after lobbying for the role and demonstrating to a sceptical Kubrick that he had the intimidating qualities necessary for the role.
Ermey, a former U.S. Marine Drill Instructor, chewed out a group of Royal Marines auditioning for the movie with an improvised tirade, proving beyond any doubt to Kubrick that he was right for the part.
Ermey was hired, while Colceri received the smaller role of the outspoken helicopter door gunner.
Following Ermey winning the role, it was re-written and expanded to accommodate the actor's specific talents - that is, spitting acid-tongued put-downs better than anyone - incorporating a 250-page transcript of Hartman's insults while also allowing Ermey to improvise roughly 50% of his dialogue.
Full Metal Jacket's lengthy boot camp sequence is one of cinema's all-time greats, and it's almost entirely because of Ermey.
It's safe to say that without the actor having such a spellbinding effect on Kubrick, the scene wouldn't have turned out as iconic or as riveting as it ultimately did.