That Guy!

Tom Maguire
21 August 2005

We here at the Film Basement have long-appreciated the work of not just the big-name actors, but also of the bit players, character-actors if you will, who've played endless thugs, bad guys, clerks, police sergeants, and newspaper vendors over the years. These are the actors whose name you don't know, but whose face you recognize immediately. Often such actors are used in the same type or role again and again. There are some actors you see so often as the Chief of Police, that when you see them selling the Hero an ice cream cone, something feels wrong. Others are just reliable faces that can be used as "filler people" in any slot. We feel that these unsung actors deserve their moment in the spotlight, free from the shadows of the Name Talent they so often support.

This month: Grand L. Bush

Typical Roles: Cop

Most Famous Role: Die Hard

Most recently seen in: JAG

Named after his grandfather Lee Grand Bush, Grand L. is a quintessential 80's Action Movie That Guy. According to his IMDB bio, Bush is a former dancer in Las Vegas, a Shakesperean actor who turned down a Julliard scholarship to care for his ailing mother, dined with Prince Charles and Princess Diana at the premiere of the 1989 James Bond movie License to Kill, is a deeply religious student of Theology, and trained with famed martial artist Benny "The Jet" for his role as Balrog in Street Fighter: The Movie. I make none of this up. In his most famous role as Agent Johnson in Die Hard he was paired with fellow That Guy (or possibly Scary Lookin Bastard) Robert Davi as "the other Agent Johnson." The two would be paired again in License to Kill. As with any good That Guy, Mr. Bush has moved from back and forth from film to television roles throughout his career, most recently appearing in 2002 on an episode of JAG and in the direct to film Boa as... you guessed it, a cop.

Where you've probably seen him

Demolition Man
License to Kill
Die Hard
Lethal Weapon
Night Shift

Check out Grand L. Bush's full list of credits at The Internet Movie Database.