Everett McGill
Encyclopedia
Everett McGill is an American
actor, best known for mostly playing villains in films like Licence to Kill
, Silver Bullet
, Dune
, Yanks
and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
.
, Florida
. He graduated from Rosedale High School in Kansas City, Kansas
, in 1963.
McGill has a relatively short filmography, but has managed to garner some level of fame by appearing in films and television series with cult following
s, including a stint as Chad Richards on the soap opera
The Guiding Light in 1975 and 1976. After coming into the public eye in 1981 for his role as the rugged caveman
leader Naoh in Quest for Fire
, McGill appeared in Silver Bullet
, a 1985 werewolf
movie inspired by a Stephen King
short story; the Korean War
battle epic Field of Honor
and the Clint Eastwood
war film Heartbreak Ridge
in 1986; and in the 1989 installment of the James Bond
franchise, Licence to Kill
.
The actor is most widely recognized for his work with director David Lynch
. McGill first worked with Lynch in the 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert
's Dune
, in which he played Fremen leader Stilgar
. McGill later appeared as a major character on the TV series Twin Peaks
, in which he played Ed Hurley, a sensitive mechanic torn between his high school sweetheart, Norma Jennings, and his shrewish, one-eyed wife, Nadine. Ed and Norma's troubled romance was one of the show's major storylines. Subsequently, McGill also appeared in Lynch's 1999 film, The Straight Story
, again as a mechanic.
In 1991, McGill and his Twin Peaks costar Wendy Robie
appeared as the villains of the Wes Craven
feature, The People Under the Stairs
. He appeared in My Fellow Americans
as Colonel Paul Tanner, and in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
as Marcus Penn, a mercenary
.
Babylon 5
producer J. Michael Straczynski
originally intended for McGill to play the role of Major Ryan in the episode "Severed Dreams
". He did not know McGill's first name, however, so when he asked to have McGill contacted, Straczynski was asked if he meant Bruce McGill
, to which he replied, "yes". Even though it became apparent to Straczynski when Bruce McGill met him for lunch that this was not the McGill he expected, Straczynski decided to use Bruce McGill anyway.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor, best known for mostly playing villains in films like Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
, Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet (film)
Silver Bullet is a 1985 horror film based on the Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf. It stars Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Megan Follows, Corey Haim, Terry O'Quinn, Lawrence Tierney, Bill Smitrovich, Kent Broadhurst, David Hart, and James Gammon...
, Dune
Dune (film)
Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
, Yanks
Yanks
Yanks is a 1979 John Schlesinger film, set in World War II in the village of Dobcross, in Greater Manchester, England. Starring Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Lisa Eichhorn, Rachel Roberts and Tony Melody....
and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is a 1995 American action film set on board a train traveling through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Los Angeles. Directed by Geoff Murphy, it stars Steven Seagal as the ex-Navy SEAL, Casey Ryback and is the sequel to the 1992 film Under Siege also starring Seagal....
.
Life and career
McGill was born Charles Everett McGill III in Miami BeachMiami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He graduated from Rosedale High School in Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, in 1963.
McGill has a relatively short filmography, but has managed to garner some level of fame by appearing in films and television series with cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
s, including a stint as Chad Richards on the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Guiding Light in 1975 and 1976. After coming into the public eye in 1981 for his role as the rugged caveman
Caveman
A caveman or troglodyte is a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved...
leader Naoh in Quest for Fire
Quest for Fire (film)
Quest for Fire is a 1981 film adaptation of the 1911 Belgian novel by J.-H. Rosny aîné . Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and adapted by Gérard Brach, the film stars Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nameer El-Kadi, and Rae Dawn Chong. It won the Academy Award for Makeup. Michael D...
, McGill appeared in Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet (film)
Silver Bullet is a 1985 horror film based on the Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf. It stars Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Megan Follows, Corey Haim, Terry O'Quinn, Lawrence Tierney, Bill Smitrovich, Kent Broadhurst, David Hart, and James Gammon...
, a 1985 werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
movie inspired by a Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
short story; the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
battle epic Field of Honor
Field of Honor (1986 film)
Field of Honor is a 1986 Dutch/South Korean war film set during the Korean war, directed by Dae-hie Kim and Hans Scheepmaker.-Plot summary:...
and the Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
war film Heartbreak Ridge
Heartbreak Ridge
Heartbreak Ridge is a 1986 American war film, starring Clint Eastwood and Mario Van Peebles, surrounding the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, West Indies. A portion of the movie was filmed on the island itself....
in 1986; and in the 1989 installment of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
franchise, Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
.
The actor is most widely recognized for his work with director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
. McGill first worked with Lynch in the 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's Dune
Dune (film)
Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
, in which he played Fremen leader Stilgar
Stilgar
Stilgar is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He appears in the first three novels in the series: Dune , Dune Messiah and Children of Dune . His early life is explored in Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
. McGill later appeared as a major character on the TV series Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, in which he played Ed Hurley, a sensitive mechanic torn between his high school sweetheart, Norma Jennings, and his shrewish, one-eyed wife, Nadine. Ed and Norma's troubled romance was one of the show's major storylines. Subsequently, McGill also appeared in Lynch's 1999 film, The Straight Story
The Straight Story
The Straight Story is a 1999 film directed by David Lynch. The film was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and co-worker. She co-wrote the script with John E. Roach....
, again as a mechanic.
In 1991, McGill and his Twin Peaks costar Wendy Robie
Wendy Robie
Wendy Robie is an American actress known for playing eccentric, mentally disturbed characters in television and on film. She is especially known for her role as Nadine Hurley in David Lynch's Twin Peaks and as Mommy in Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs...
appeared as the villains of the Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
feature, The People Under the Stairs
The People Under the Stairs
The People Under the Stairs is a 1991 horror film directed by Wes Craven and starring Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A. J. Langer, Ving Rhames and Sean Whalen.- Plot :...
. He appeared in My Fellow Americans
My Fellow Americans
My Fellow Americans is a 1996 American comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Dan Aykroyd and James Garner as feuding ex-presidents. Lauren Bacall, Esther Rolle, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Bradley Whitford and Jeff Yagher also appear in supporting performances...
as Colonel Paul Tanner, and in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is a 1995 American action film set on board a train traveling through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Los Angeles. Directed by Geoff Murphy, it stars Steven Seagal as the ex-Navy SEAL, Casey Ryback and is the sequel to the 1992 film Under Siege also starring Seagal....
as Marcus Penn, a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
.
Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
producer J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
originally intended for McGill to play the role of Major Ryan in the episode "Severed Dreams
Severed Dreams
"Severed Dreams" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. It won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.-Synopsis:...
". He did not know McGill's first name, however, so when he asked to have McGill contacted, Straczynski was asked if he meant Bruce McGill
Bruce McGill
Bruce Travis McGill is an American actor who has an extensive list of credits in film and television. He is perhaps best known for his role as Jack Dalton on the television series MacGyver and as Daniel Simpson "D-Day" Day in National Lampoon's Animal House.-Early life:McGill was born in San...
, to which he replied, "yes". Even though it became apparent to Straczynski when Bruce McGill met him for lunch that this was not the McGill he expected, Straczynski decided to use Bruce McGill anyway.