The 10 best Gary Busey performances

Gary Busey has been a bit of a punchline for a while. In fact, people seem to mostly view him as a “crazy guy” more than an actor. However, Busey has been acting since the ‘70s — and not without some degree of talent. If we set aside Busey the personality and focus on Busey the actor, there are some memorable roles worth talking about.

"The Buddy Holly Story" (1978)

In 1978, Busey was still a young actor with barely any credits to his name. Then, he got cast as Buddy Holly, the famed singer who died tragically in a plane crash. Busey didn’t just play Holly, he also actually sang in the film. His performance got him an Oscar nomination. Busey was never able to really reach this height in his career again.

"Straight Time" (1978)

“Straight Time” has an incredible cast. Busey isn’t the star, but he has an important role in the movie as a friend of the main character, played by Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman plays a thief recently released from prison who is struggling to go straight. In addition to Hoffman and Busey, M. Emmet Walsh, Harry Dean Stanton and Kathy Bates are in the film.

"Barbarosa" (1982)

Unfortunately, “Barbarosa” has been largely forgotten. However, at the time it was a critically acclaimed western. Pauline Kael liked it, and Siskel and Ebert featured it on an episode of their show about overlooked sleepers. Busey stars alongside Willie Nelson. Yes, the singer. That being said, Nelson surprised with his acting chops, but having Busey alongside him to shoulder the load certainly helped.

"Lethal Weapon" (1987)

“Lethal Weapon” made quite the impact on the film industry — and not just because it started Shane Black’s career and helped turn Mel Gibson into a movie star. After all, they eventually made three sequels and a TV show based on this story of mismatched cops. Busey has a memorable role as the main henchman of the villain. In fact, though he’s a henchman, he’s actually the one who gets to have the final fight scene, which is pretty wild and over the top, but a lot of fun.

"Point Break" (1991)

Speaking of inane, over the top and a lot of fun, “Point Break.” It’s basically everybody’s favorite cheesy ‘90s action movie. Sure, most of the fun is in watching Keanu Reeves as an FBI agent who infiltrates a gang of thrill-seeking, surfing bank robbers. Busey plays one of Reeves’ fellow FBI agents, and he brings his certain energy to the role. Oh, did we mention that Reeves plays a character named Johnny Utah?

"The Firm" (1993)

When you think about “The Firm,” the first name you think of isn’t going to be Busey’s. After all, we’re talking about a film starring Tom Cruise, and the cast features a ton of great character actors. Busey still makes his impact, though, in his role of Eddie Lomax, a private investigator. While the events of the film don’t unfold well for Lomax, it’s a noteworthy performance.

"Black Sheep" (1996)

To this point, we’ve been talking about Busey’s dramatic work. “Black Sheep” is decidedly not a drama. In fact, it’s a goofy comedy starring Chris Farley and David Spade. It’s not quite as adored as “Tommy Boy,” but “Black Sheep” still has its supporters. It’s a slightly convoluted political comedy that is mostly about Farley playing a genial doofus, while Spade plays a sarcastic, exasperated guy. You know, business as usual for those two together. Busey really gets to chew the scenery as Sergeant Drake Sabitch, a Vietnam vet who has a screw loose.

"Lost Highway" (1997)

“Lost Highway” is a movie about…honestly, who knows? And who really cares? It’s a David Lynch movie. It’s about atmosphere and visuals and all that stuff. Even for a Lynch film, though, “Lost Highway” is dense and hard to parse. Busey’s role isn’t big, but by this point in his career, he wasn’t getting many opportunities like this. Lynch isn’t afraid to make an outside-the-box choice, though, so he gave Busey a shot.

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998)

This adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s most famous book wasn’t a huge success has its issues, but the movie has become a cult classic. It’s also a really weird movie, featuring a lot of noteworthy actors popping up for short stretches of time. Mostly, we watch Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro having drug trips and traveling through the desert. While they are going through that desert, they run into a highway patrolman played by Busey. He only has a little while to make an impact, and there is a lot going on in this movie to overshadow him, but Busey’s weirdness works in a Terry Gilliam film.

"The Gingerdead Man" (2005)

Look, the new millennium has not gone well for Busey. He became known more for his erratic behavior, and his filmography has really fallen by the wayside. He’s been in a lot of stuff, but none of it is good, and a lot of it is unknown. Most of his recent films don’t even have Wikipedia pages. Want to have some fun, though? Then watch “The Gingerdead Man.” It’s a weird, so-bad-it’s-good horror movie that has to be seen to be believed. Busey plays a serial killer who gets executed but comes back to life in the body of a gingerbread man. Then he terrorizes a bunch of bakery employees and other assorted people. Busey has to carry this movie, and…well, he can’t make it respectable. However, he helps make it laughable in a fun way.