Hollywood has a long history with the military. During World War II, many actors and administrators served and contributed to the war effort in other ways, but the war goes beyond that. Here is a list of actors who have served in the military, in the United States or in other countries.
Comedian Drew Carey is rarely someone you’d expect to be a Marine, but that’s precisely what he was before he became known on television. The Price Is Right host worked six years as a radio operator in the marine reserves of his home state of Ohio after dropping out of college. You have to believe that being a radio operator would be a good experience to speak into a microphone, right?
During World War II, an entire generation of men were expected to contribute to the war effort. On the other hand, women were not intended to enlist in the service. Bea Arthur had the idea and enlisted in the Marine Corps. The world being what she was at the time, she served in the United States, performing responsibilities as a typist and later in the automobile fleet.
Although best known for playing with a corporal in MASH who went to great lengths to undermine the authority of his superiors, Jamie Farr served by far in the 1950s after being drafted in 1957. He was already in show business at the time, so much of his paintings concerned OSU exhibitions.
EGOT winner Mel Brooks served in the U. S. Army and served in the U. S. Army. He was a U. S. citizen in World War II and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. He entered high school immediately after high school in 1943 and was sent to Europe in late 1944. He was honorably released in 1946 and embarked on one of the most mythical careers of all time.
Like many others of his generation, Adam Driver wanted to join the military after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Shortly after the attack, Driver enlisted in the Marine Corps. The Star Wars actor is very proud of his service. even though he was cut short after being injured while off duty and was medically discharged due to his injury.
One of Robert Duvall’s most notable roles as the psychopathic Colonel Kilgore who enjoyed the smell of napalm in the morning in 1978’s Apocalypse Now. It was probably based on his experience in the US Army, where he served for a year in the 1950s, after the Korean War.
Don Knotts is arguably best known for his gaffes on The Andy Griffith Show and Three’s Company, but his time in the military was anything but silly. Knotts served three years in the Army during World War II and earned medals for his service in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he embarked on what would become a mythical career in Hollywood.
It took a long time for Morgan Freeman to become famous, but once he did, he became a ubiquitous voice in everyone’s head. After high school, Freeman enlisted in the U. S. Air Force. He served in the U. S. , where he served for 4 years in the 1950s. After leaving After Service, moved to Los Angeles and went into acting, it would take a few more decades of hard work before he became famous.
Few actors define a “movie star” like Paul Newman. As one of the biggest stars of her generation, she is enjoyed in all her roles over the years. Before coming to Hollywood, Newman served in the World War II Navy, primarily on the aircraft carrier Bunker Hill.
Comedy legend Richard Pryor made his business of ruffling feathers whenever and wherever he could. This includes the two years he served in the military in the late 1950s. According to the New Yorker, he spent much of those two years imprisoned in an army. criminal after he and other foot soldiers stabbed a white soldier over a racial incident.
Comedian Rob Riggle is one of the most committed Marines in Hollywood history. He enlisted in 1990 and served overseas several times during his 23-year career, adding to reserves. While peak periods in the military lasted only a few years for the other people on this list, Riggle served well enough and long enough to retire as a lieutenant colonel.
Jennifer Marshall may not be a household name yet, but Stranger Things enthusiasts know her as Susan, Max’s mother. Before becoming an actress, Marshall served five years in the Navy, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt’s Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Jimmy Stewart is already one of the biggest stars in the world, having won an Oscar for The Philadelphia Story before enlisting in the military after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Unlike some actors like Ronald Reagan, Stewart is at the center of the fighting. Member of the Army Air Force and well decorated for it, adding the obtaining of the Distinguished Flying Cross. He remained in the reserve long after the war and retired in 1968 with the rank of brigadier general.
Ice-T is not only an actor, but also one of the pioneers of hip-hop. He first became interested in music in the late ’70s, while serving in the military. His time in the army, however, was not exactly full of glory. He was charged with theft while on duty and eventually found guilty of dereliction of duty. He shortened his time because he was already a single father and was honorably released in 1979.
In Israel, most citizens are required to serve in the Israel Defense Forces and Gal Gadot was no different when she was recruited at age 20. She finished her mandatory two years in the Army as a combat fitness instructor. She was part of a series of Maxim’s female Israeli infantry soldiers in her service before turning to acting and landing her breakthrough role in Fast.
Famous for his calm demeanor and giant hair (a hairstyle he’s come to hate), Bob Ross doesn’t look like the military type. For most people, Ross needs to blow off steam and de-stress while watching him magically paint on TV. But before all that, he was an air force sergeant.
Robin Quivers is best known for being Howard Stern’s partner on his famous radio show and for starring with him in Private Parts, but long before she became a key component of Stern’s team, she was an Air Force officer. She joined the Army after school in 1975 and eventually rose to the rank of captain before leaving the Army and beginning her career in radio.
As with some actors, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s time in the military was mundane. Of course, he served in his local Austria, which required a year of service from all young men. At his time, he was already a rising star in world bodybuilding and even went AWOL to compete. After being released, he participated in his first M. Universe competition, placing second, and the rest is history.
Despite narrowly missing World War II, Sean Connery joined the Royal Navy in 1946, when he was just 16 years old. No, he didn’t serve on a submarine and the James Bond star wasn’t a spy. His service was short-lived as he was discharged for a medical issue less than three years later. However, he remained proud of his service for the rest of his life.
Quantum Leap star Caitlin Bassett is a rarity in Hollywood, a wrestling veteran. Bassett served seven years in the Army, adding three deployments to Afghanistan before receiving honorable discharge in 2017 and embarking on her acting career.
Hollywood legend Gene Hackman enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1947, at just 16 years old. He worked for five years as a radio operator, and added a year in China. After being honorably released, he went to school and eventually gambled at an advanced age. It’s been a long road, but Hackman couldn’t have imagined how lucky he would be as one of the most beloved actors of his generation.
Tom Selleck served six years in the California National Guard at the height of the Viet Nam War. Serving in the National Guard meant he wasn’t going to fight overseas, but that would have to diminish his service. The Blue Bloods star began his career with small roles in TV shows and commercials while on duty, it took years before he had to turn down the role of Indiana Jones.
Although she never officially served in the military, we couldn’t compile this list without the desirable story of Marlene Dietrich. The German-born actress renounced her German citizenship in 1939 when World War II broke out, and worked vigorously for the USO during the war years, supporting American soldiers. Later in the war, she was recruited through the OSS to record songs used for propaganda purposes opposed to German soldiers. After the war, Dietrich was awarded the Medal of Freedom for his service.
Battleship star Gregory Gadson is known more for his service than his acting, which is unique to this list. Gadson is a West Point graduate who was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007. He lost either of his legs, but relearned how to walk with complex prosthetics. and later, incorporating his injury into his character in Battleship.
Star Trek legend James Doohan served valiantly in the Canadian Army during World War II and participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944. He collected several medals for his bravery in the war and was even shot down six times during the war. Battle at Juno Beach on that fateful day. Later, he also flew airplanes during the war.
One of Charles Bronson’s most beloved roles is as an officer in one of the most productive war films of all time, The Great Escape. Although he is Polish in the film, he served in the United States Air Force in World War II as a bomber gunner. He served with distinction, flew 25 missions in the Pacific during the war, and earned the Purple Heart.
As a singer-songwriter and actor, Kris Kristofferson has sometimes been connected to the counterculture, but that wasn’t the case. Kristofferson grew up in the military, and although he was a Rhodes Scholar in college, his proud army stressed him out. His circle of relatives signed up for the service. He was commissioned as an officer and served in Germany after completing his ranger training. He left the Army in 1965 and moved to Nashville, and the rest is history.
Fox’s Human Target is an underrated, short-lived TV show with an all-star cast that includes Chi McBride, Jackie Earle Haley, Indira Varma, and Janet Montgomery. Directed by Mark Valley, who played Christopher Chance, based on a DC comic book character from a book also called Human Target. Valley himself graduated from West Point and participated in the first Gulf War.
One of the most compelling stories on this list belongs to Quantico star Jake McLaughlin. McLaughlin joined the Army after finishing high school and served in the Iraq War, where he fought from the early days of the invasion. After his release, he worked a few jobs before landing a role in In the Valley of Elah. From there, she never looked back and landed roles in several TV series and movies.
Although Jesse Ventura, star of ring wrestling and movies like Predator, never saw fight in Viet Nam, he had an impressive military career. He finished BUD/S school, which is SEAL training, and was part of an underwater demolition team, the predecessors of the SEALs. He later became a politician and a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Fans of Fox’s Batman prequel series Gotham will recognize J. W. Cortés as Detective Carlos Alvarez, who works with Jim Gordon in the Gotham police. Cortés served for thirteen years in the Marine Corps, adding Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Plane 2023 is underrated because it is a wonderful action movie. Part of what makes it wonderful is the exceptional performance of Remi Adeleke. Adeleke is part of a private military unit tasked with rescuing passengers from a crashed and trapped plane in the Philippines. Adeleke plays the role well because, well, she’s a real-life former SEAL.
Hugh Scott is CinemaBlend’s distribution editor. Prior to CinemaBlend, he was an editor at Suggest. com and Gossipcop. com, covering celebrity news and debunking fake gossip. He has worked in the publishing industry for about two decades, covering pop culture. (videos and TV shows, specifically) with a willful interest and love for Gen X culture, its earliest influences, and what he has fostered since. He earned a degree in political science from Boston University, but was cured of political bias almost without delay after graduating.
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