There are several well-known actors in the Full Metal Jacket cast, but where else can you find them? The 1987 publication of the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers by American author and Vietnam veteran Gustav Hasford served as the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam war epic Full Metal Jacket. The script, which Kubrick, Hasford, and Vietnam War correspondent Michael Herr co-wrote, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Today, Full Metal Jacket is considered as one of cinema’s greatest war movies, despite receiving some initially unfavourable reviews.
The first half of Full Metal Jacket, which is divided into two parts, follows a platoon of recently enlisted U.S. Marines as they endure a testing boot camp at the iconic Parris Island training facility in South Carolina. Members of the same platoon are the subject of the second half, which is set in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive and centres on their horrific combat in the streets of Hu. The indescribable brutality of war and the way it dehumanises those who fight it are effectively depicted in both sections.
Many now well-known faces got their start in the film in early parts as well. The cast of Full Metal Jacket may also have been seen in these locations.
Adam Baldwin – Animal Mother
Happy-go-lucky machine gunner Adam Baldwin, who is well known for playing Jayne Cobb in Firefly and its follow-up movie, plays Animal Mo ther. Predator 2 is one of Baldwin’s other movies, and he has also appeared on TV in Chuck and The Last Ship.
Arliss Howard – Sergeant Cowboy Evans
Joker meets fellow boot camp survivor Cowboy Evans, played by Arliss Howard, in Vietnam. In addition to Full Metal Jacket, Howard has been in movies including The Time Traveler’s Wife and Jurassic Park: The Lost World. In the TV shows Manhunt and True Blood, he has also appeared.
Dorian Harewood – Eightball
Eightball is the closest friend of Animal Mother and a fellow soldier in Joker’s battalion. He is portrayed by Dorian Harewood, a well-known voice actor who has been in animated shows including The Spectacular Spider-Man and Biker Mice from Mars. Harewood has also made guest appearances on programmes including Boomtown and 7th Heaven.
Kevyn Major Howard – Rafterman
Canadian actor Kevyn Major Howard portrays combat photojournalist Rafterman. Between 1980 to 1999, Howard was a working actor who appeared in Miami Vice, Death Wish II, and Alien Nation.
Matthew Modine – Private J.T. “Joker” Davis
Matthew Modine plays wisecracking recruit J.T “Joker” Davis. He had roles in movies like Birdy and Vision Quest before Full Metal Jacket, and he has since made appearances in movies like Transporter 2 and The Dark Knight Rises. A frequent TV performer, Modine has appeared in episodes of Stranger Things.
R. Lee Ermey – Gunnery Sergeant Hartman
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, a brutal drill instructor who provided some of the movie’s most iconic quotes, was portrayed by the late R. Lee Ermey. Ermey added a lot of credibility to the Full Metal Jacket cast as a former drill sergeant and went on to play numerous other military roles in films including Body Snatchers and the Toy Story series.
Tim Colceri – Doorgunner
Tim Colceri, who plays the helicopter gunner Doorgunner, completes the primary Full Metal Jacket cast. Former marine Colceri has appeared in episodes of Weeds, The Secret World of Alex Mack, and Hypernauts.
Vincent D’Onofrio – Private Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence
As the underwhelming recruit Private Pyle, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, Hartman abuses him. D’Onofrio has acted in other films since Full Metal Jacket, including Men in Black and Jurassic World. His most well-known TV performances include Wilson Fisk in Daredevil and detective Robert Goren in Law And Order: Criminal Intent.
