Bio
Gary Busey is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films, including The Buddy Holly Story, Big Wednesday, Lethal Weapon, Point Break, Valley of the Wolves Iraq and Under Siege.
Busey was born in Goose Creek, Texas to a Native American father and an Irish mother, and was raised in Oklahoma, eventually graduating from college in 1963.
Musically, the young Busey was quite talented, and he played the drums in several bands, including playing with country and western legends Leon Russell, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.
Busey's first film appearance was as a biker in the low-budget Angels Hard as They Come (1971). Over the next few years he landed several film roles, generally as country hick or rebellious types.
Busey's real breakthrough came as the lead in The Buddy Holly Story (1978), where he played guitar and sang all the vocals. His performance scored him a Best Actor nomination and the attention of Hollywood casting agents.
Next up, Busey joined fellow young actors William Katt and Jan-Michael Vincent as three surfing buddies growing up together in the cult surf film Big Wednesday (1978) directed by John Milius.
However, a succession of appearances in somewhat mediocre films took Busey out of the spotlight for several years, until he played the brutal assassin Mr. Joshua trying to kill LA cops Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon (1987).
Further roles followed, including starring alongside Danny Glover, once again, in Predator 2 (1990). He was also back on the beaches, this time tracking bank robbers with FBI agent Keanu Reeves in Point Break (1991), and nearly stole the show as a psychotic Naval officer taking over the USS Missouri with Tommy Lee Jones in Under Siege (1992).