Since I had such a fun time putting Tom Cruise under my microscope, I thought that this time on “A Brief Discussion…” we could look at an actor who is renowned for being completely, utterly off his rocker. That man is Gary Busey. If you have ever seen a film with Busey in it, you know what I’m talking about. From his bizarre, bug-eyed, manic, toothy appearence to the fact that he can’t seem to say more than a sentence without launching into some kind of lunatic behaviour, there can be no argument that Gary leaves an impression on everyone he meets.
If I could, I’d start things off by talking a bit about Busey’s official website, except he doesn’t seem to have one. The closest thing I could find was a fansite called BuseyWorld which, while paying tribute to the actor, can’t help but poke a bit of fun at this maniac, saying right on their home page “Although not the most well-known actor, Mr. Busey has reliably infused his characters with an intensity that makes babies cry.” You can say that again, man.
Busey has acted in a ton of movies, starting with the Roger Corman-produced biker movie Angels Hard as They Come with Scott Glen in 1971. Since then he has made appearences in no fewer than 144 movies, which is pretty impressive considering how intimidating he must be to work with. Busey first gained major recognition when he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story, and has appeared in many popular films such as Blood Sport, Lethal Weapon, Predator 2, Point Break, Under Siege, Rookie of the Year, Lost Highway, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, to name but a handful. But my absolute favourite Gary Busey film by far has to be 2005’s The Gingerdead Man. I’ll let the trailer speak for itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsOtcEOkJ-I
Unfortunately, Busey refused to appear in the sequel, The Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust, but I suppose it really isn’t that big a loss.
One of Busey’s most recent endeavours was to appear on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, seeking rehabilitation for an addiction to painkillers. Busey has publicly spoken about his drug problems over the years, and has even admitted to snorting cocaine off his dog’s back! It really makes ya wonder how much of his mental instability was because of the drugs, and how much was already present before he starting doing rails off Fido.
Before I wrap this up, I should mention Busey’s trademark Buseyisms – acronyms that he has created in order to inspire himself or…something. Here are a few of my favourites:
“You know what ‘FEAR’ stands for? It stands for ‘False Evidence Appearing Real.’ It’s the darkroom where Satan develops his negatives.”
“You know what ‘SOBER’ stands for? It stands for ‘Son Of a Bitch, Everything’s Real!'”
“You know what ‘DOUBT’ stands for? It stands for ‘Debate On Understanding Bewildersome Thoughts.'”
One last Busey quote before I go:
“Drinking your own blood is the paradigm of recycling.”
You said it, Gary. You said it.
