Born in Emporia, Kansas, USA in 1944, Ronald Lee Ermey served 11 years in the US Marine Corps. During this time, he did two tours of duty in Vietnam. He rose to the rank of Marine Corps Drill Instructor.

He later enrolled at the University of Manila to study drama. Francis Ford Coppola was filming "Apocalypse Now" (1979) near Manila at the time and he cast Ermey as a helicopter pilot.

Ermey's most well-known credits are:
"The Frighteners", "Dead Man Walking", "Murder in the First", "Leaving Las Vegas", "Sommersby", "Mississippi Burning" and his starring role in Steve James' highly acclaimed "Prefontaine".

His 1988 'Golden Globe' nomination and 'Boston Society of Film Critics Award' (also 1988) for best supporting actor in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" (1987) lend credence to his reputation. One of Ermey's most recent projects is the as yet unreleased feature film "Going West", in which he appears alongside Dennis Quaid and Danny Glover.

In the European co-production TAKING SIDES, R. Lee Ermey plays the part of General Wallace.