This week sees the release of Harrison Ford's latest sci-fi epic Ender's Game, the story of a group of kids becoming enrolled in the Earth's space military, under the watchful eye of A LOT of powerful, intimidating army commanders. This got us thinking about some of the scarier drill sergeants we've seen over the years, and how we're glad we've never had to meet any of them, or anyone like them, in real life!
5. Sgt. Emil Foley (An Officer & A Gentleman)
Louis Gosset Jnr is completely ruthless and scary drill sergeant, really putting poor Richard Gere through hell, but we all know that deep down inside Foley has a good heart, and only has the best intentions of Gere's character. Still though, him screaming in your face isn't something that you'd exactly want on a day-to-day basis.
4. Sgt. Apone (Aliens)
Al Matthews may have been a little tough on his crew before landing on the xenomorph-infested planet of LV-426, but as it turned out, he had every right to be. He was more of a “shouty to get your pump on" kind of sergeant instead of “degrade you to make you feel like poop" kind of sergeant, and he always had a killer line to spout from his perma-cigar chomping mouth. “Look into my eye!"
3. Sgt. Zim (Starship Troopers)
Clancy Brown is a hard-ass drill sergeant in the way that only a clichéd, hard-ass drill sergeant could be in Paul Verhoven movie, by doing things like throwing knives at his cadets, and kneeling on their throats until they pass out. Thankfully the film-maker realised the inherent funniness of this OTT character, and Brown followed suit, making his hard-ass stand out in a film full of hard-asses: remember Michael Ironside's lecturer/war hero? Ledgebag!
2. Bart Simpson (The Simpsons)
Yes, this is a bit of a cheat, as it's a TV show, and Bart isn't REALLY a drill-sergeant, but we couldn't not include this on our list. When Bart gets bullied at school, he enlists the help of his Grandpa, the one-armed gun-store owner, and his fellow bullies to exact revenge. This is also planned for with a harsh, endless training montage as Bart makes his fellow warriors dredge through mud, jump over ponds, etc… He's a madman. A MADMAN!
1. Sgt. Hartman (Full Metal Jacket)
This was never going to end any other way, and instead of telling you why he's number one, you should just watch this profanity filled, very NSFW (unless you have headphones on) clip. The man is terror incarnate.
