Gary Busey's Career Through The Years
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Gary Busey
Gary Busey was born June 29, 1944, in Goose Creek, Texas. The now famous actor didn't always dream of acting as a boy and was pursuing a football career at Pittsburg State University when he discovered his passion for acting. After college, Gary would begin his show business career on stage as a drummer in local comedy shows before making his acting debut in Hollywood.
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'The Gumball Rally'
Gary Busey's first major film debut would come in 1974 when he scored a supporting role in Michael Cimino's crime comedy Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. Starring alongside Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, the role would thrust Gary into the spotlight and prime him to take on other major roles including legendary country singer "Kris Kristofferson" in A Star is Born (1976) and "Gibson" in The Gumball Rally (1976).
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'The Buddy Holly Story'
One of the biggest moments of Gary Busey's career came in 1978 when he was cast to play real life rock star "Buddy Holly" in The Buddy Holly Story. Channeling his own musical experience, Gary nailed the part and received some of the highest praise of his career for his performance, even earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor!
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'Lethal Weapon'
Now skip forward 10 years and Gary Busey had become a household name in Hollywood. With performances in critically acclaimed western Barbarosa and a Stephen King film adaptation of Silver Bullet, Gary was in high demand when he landed the part of lead antagonist "Joshua" in action comedy Lethal Weapon.
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'Predator 2'
Gary Busy would prove unstoppable in the 1990s, scoring prominent roles including 1990's Predator and 1991's Point Break. Busey also continued his musical career in the 1990s performing on The Late Show with David Letterman.
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'Under Siege'
One of Gary Busey's best roles, and funniest, of the 1990s was 1992's thriller Under Siege, where he plays the mentally unstable antagonist "Commander Krill". Gary Busey has become well-known for being able to bring his sense of humor to his roles even while staying in character.
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'Black Sheep'
Gary's humor and success would continue into the late 1990s with a string of successes starting with political comedy Black Sheep (1996), followed by neo-noir film Lost Highway (1997), and closing with a Hunter S. Thompson film adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).
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'Two Shades of Blue'
Gary Busey brings on the romance in this 1999 thriller, that is of course until he is murdered! Two Shades of Blue brings high intensity drama and mystery as Gary's character's fiance (played by Rachel Hunter) attempts to prove herself innocent of the murder. As always, Gary Busey delivers an outstanding performance, even as a dead man!
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'Confessions of a Womanizer'
Although not quite as active as he was in his early career, Gary Busey has stayed busy in the 2000s. Highlights of his later work include many TV series including popular miniseries Into the West and HBO's Entourage. You can also catch Gary in 2014 comedy Confessions of a Womanizer, continuing to deliver his trademark humor.
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Gary Busey
In addition to taking on an array of characters, Gary is also known for playing himself on reality TV series. He has starred in not just one, but two seasons of Donald Trump's 'Celebrity Apprentice', along with appearances on 'Celebrity Big Brother' and 'Dancing with the Stars'. It seems fans just can't get enough of the humorous and goofy 80-year-old and lucky for us he hasn't shown any signs of stopping!