10 More Best Actor Replacements In Movies

Difficult though it is to believe, R. Lee Ermey wasn't actually the first choice to play Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket.

Actor and former Marine Tim Colceri was originally cast in the role while Ermey - himself an ex-Marines drill instructor and occasional actor - was merely hired as a technical advisor to help train Colceri.

But during pre-production, Ermey taped footage of himself playing a drill instructor character, and Kubrick became so fascinated with it that he ultimately decided an actor would never be able to play the part as well.

And so, Kubrick gave the Hartman role to Ermey instead, and as a consolation prize to Colceri, he was given the much smaller part of a sadistic helicopter door gunner.

It was a tough break for Colceri no doubt, but watching the final film, Ermey was born to play this role, and Full Metal Jacket likely wouldn't have hit nearly as hard or become as iconic as it did if another actor played Hartman.