Ronald Lee Ermey (born March 24, 1944) is a former U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor and later Golden Globe-nominated actor, often playing the roles of authority figures, such as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning and Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He currently hosts Mail Call, a military history program on The History Channel, where Ermey answers military-related viewer questions. Ermey is also an official spokesman for Glock firearms, Tupperware, Hoover vacuum cleaners, and the Young Marines, and has also appeared in commercials for Coors Light and Dick's Sporting Goods.

A talented character actor known for his military roles, R. Lee Ermey was in the US Marine Corps for 11 years. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and later was bestowed the honorary rank of Gunnery Sergeant by the Marine Corps, after he serviced 14 months in Vietnam and then later did 2 tours in Okinawa, Japan. After injuries forced him to retire from the Corps, he moved to the Phillipines, enrolling in the University of Manila, where he studied Criminology and Drama. He appeared in several Filipino films before being cast as a helicopter pilot in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979). Due to his Vietnam experiences, Coppola also utilized him as a technical adviser. He got a featured role in Sidney J. Furie's Boys in Company C, The (1978), playing a drill instructor. Ermey worked with Furie again in Purple Hearts (1984). However, his most famous (or infamous) role came as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe. He did win the best supporting actor award from The Boston Society of Film Critics. Since then he has appeared in numerous character roles in such films as Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Se7en (1995) and Dead Man Walking (1995). Ermey, however, prefers comedy to drama, and has a comedic role in Saving Silverman (2001). Ronald Lee Ermey continues to be one of the best character actors in the business, and you can bet that when his name appears in a movie's credits, he is going to be top notch in his role.