Jake Busey | |
|---|---|
 Busey at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | William Jacob Busey June 15, 1971 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Children | 1 |
| Father | Gary Busey |
William Jacob Busey (/ˈbjuːsi/; born June 15, 1971) is an American actor. Among his most prominent roles have been serial killer Johnny Bartlett in The Frighteners (1996), Ace Levy in Starship Troopers (1997), Kyle Brenner in Tomcats (2001), Aiden Tanner in the television series From Dusk till Dawn: The Series (2014–2016), and Sean H. Keyes in The Predator (2018) and Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020). Busey also appears as a journalist in the third season of Stranger Things.
Early life
[edit]Busey is the son of Judy Helkenberg and actor Gary Busey.[1]
Career
[edit]Busey's motion picture debut was in the 1978 crime film Straight Time with his father Gary, along with Dustin Hoffman and Theresa Russell. His two most notable appearances are as the murderous religious fanatic opposite Jodie Foster in Contact and as smart-mouthed soldier Ace Levy in Starship Troopers, both in 1997. He appeared in H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, one of three 2005 film adaptations of the novel by H. G. Wells, alongside C. Thomas Howell. Additionally, he has had major roles in Peter Jackson's The Frighteners with Michael J. Fox (1996),Tomcats (2001) opposite Jerry O'Connell and Shannon Elizabeth, in James Mangold's thriller Identity (2003), with C. Thomas Howell in The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting (2003), and Road House 2 (2006). Busey played the role of "Backfire" in Patrick Durham's movie Cross which was released directly to DVD and download in May 2011, and stars in the independent film Don't Pass Me By.
He has also had minor parts in films like Windrunner: A Spirited Journey starring Jason Wiles, Christmas with the Kranks starring Tim Allen, I'll Do Anything, Enemy of the State, The Killing Jar, The Stoned Age, PCU, Fast Sofa with Jennifer Tilly and Natasha Lyonne, and Reaper with Danny Trejo and Vinnie Jones. He also had a main role on the television series Shasta McNasty. Busey portrayed Professor Aiden "Sex Machine" Tanner since 2013 in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series.[2]
He also provided the voice of The Radioman in the 2012 video game Spec Ops: The Line and of the DJ of Resistance Radio in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Additionally, he voiced Teenage Tom during flashback scenes in the 1989 film Hider in the House which his father, Gary Busey starred in as Tom Sykes. In 2016, Busey starred in the feature film Deserted.
In 2018, Busey appeared in two episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. portraying Mack's old friend Tony Caine. Busey later joined the cast of Stranger Things in the third season portraying a journalist named Bruce Lowe.[3]
Personal life
[edit]In 2012, Busey and his girlfriend had a daughter.[4]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Straight Time | Henry Darin | [5] | |
| 1982 | Barbarosa | Cook Boy | ||
| 1989 | Hider in the House | Teenage Tom Sykes | Voice | [5][6] |
| 1993 | Shimmer | Richard Halverson | [5] | |
| 1994 | Foot Shooting Party | Unknown | Short film | |
| S.F.W. | Morrow Streeter | |||
| The Stoned Age | Jimmy Muldoon | |||
| PCU | Mersh | |||
| I'll Do Anything | Unknown | |||
| 1995 | Quiet Days in Hollywood | Curt | ||
| Windrunner | Dave Promisco | |||
| 1996 | The Frighteners | Johnny Charles Bartlett | ||
| Twister | Mobile Lab Technician | |||
| 1997 | Contact | Joseph | ||
| Starship Troopers | Private "Ace" Levy | |||
| 1998 | Black Cat Run | Deputy Norm Babbitt | ||
| Enemy of the State | NSA Agent Krug | |||
| Home Fries | Angus | |||
| 1999 | Held Up | Beaumont | ||
| Tail Lights Fade | Bruce | |||
| 2001 | Tomcats | Kyle Brenner | ||
| 2002 | The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest | Darrell | ||
| 2003 | Identity | Robert Maine | ||
| Lost Junction | Matt | |||
| The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting | Jack | Direct-to-video | ||
| 2004 | Christmas with the Kranks | Officer Treen | ||
| 2005 | H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds | Lieutenant Samuelson | Direct-to-video | |
| The Rain Makers | Shaw | Associate producer | ||
| 2006 | Road House 2 | Bill "Wild Bill" Decarie | Direct-to-video | |
| Wristcutters: A Love Story | Brian | |||
| Broken | Vince | |||
| 2008 | Time Bomb | Jason Philby | Direct-to-video | |
| 2010 | The Killing Jar | Greene | ||
| 2011 | Cross | "Backfire" | Direct-to-video; Also producer | |
| 2012 | Play James Play | Paul | ||
| Don't Pass Me By | Fred Norwick | [5] | ||
| Nazis at the Center of the Earth | Adrian Reistad | Direct-to-video | ||
| Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta! | Oscar | Direct-to-video; voice | [5][6] | |
| 2013 | Girl Meets Boy | Richard | [5] | |
| Sparks | "Sledge" | |||
| 2014 | Reaper | Bill | ||
| 2015 | Most Likely to Die | Tarkin | ||
| 2016 | Last Man Club | Jim "Diamond Jim" | ||
| Deserted | Clay | |||
| Arbor Demon | Sean | |||
| 2017 | Dead Again in Tombstone | Colonel Jackson Boomer | ||
| Dead Ant | Merrick | |||
| 2018 | The Predator | Sean Keyes | ||
| A Boy Called Sailboat | Mr. Bing | |||
| 2019 | Ghost in the Graveyard | Charlie Sullivan | ||
| 2020 | A Soldier's Revenge | Captain McCalister | ||
| 2024 | Guns & Moses | Owen Gibbons | ||
| Rust | Drum Parker | |||
| 2025 | Killing Mary Sue | Wes Adamle | ||
| TBA | Gettysburg 1863 | TBA | Filming | [7] |
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Cruel Doubt | Student | Television film | [5] |
| 1994 | Motorcycle Gang | Jake | Television film | |
| 1994 | Tales from the Crypt | Frank | Episode: "Surprise Party" | |
| 1999 | Shasta McNasty | Dennis | Main role; 22 episodes | |
| 2001 | Jeremiah | Jake Davenport | Episode: "The Bag" | |
| 2002 | The Twilight Zone | Vincent Hansen | Episode: "Chosen" | |
| 2004 | Charmed | Warlock | Episode: "WitchStock" | |
| 2005 | Code Breakers | Straub | Television film | |
| 2007 | CSI: Miami | Phillip Craven | Episode: "Internal Affairs" | |
| 2008 | Comanche Moon | Tudwal | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | The Mentalist | Vern Nichols | Episode: "Red Badge" | |
| 2010 | The Good Guys | Brody | Episode: "Dan on the Run" | |
| 2011 | CSI: NY | Randy Davis | Episode: "Keep It Real" | |
| Good Vibes | Dirk Kirk "Turk" Turkpatrick | 12 episodes; voice | [5][6] | |
| 2012 | The Finder | Bobby the Twin | Episode: "Swing and a Miss" | [5] |
| Franklin & Bash | Dr. Doug | Episode: "Waiting on a Friend" | ||
| 2013 | Psych | FBI Agent | Episode: "Santabarbaratown 2" | |
| 2014–2016 | From Dusk till Dawn: The Series | Professor Aiden "Sex Machine" Tanner | 26 episodes | |
| 2015 | Justified | Lewis "The Wiz" Mago | Episode: "The Trash and the Snake" | |
| Texas Rising | Samuel Wallace | 2 episodes | ||
| 2017 | Day 5 | Carl | 2 episodes | |
| Ray Donovan | Acid Man | 3 episodes | ||
| Freakish | Earl | 5 episodes | ||
| 2018 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Tony Caine | 2 episodes | |
| NCIS | Whit Dexter | Episode: "Handle With Care" | ||
| 2019 | Stranger Things | Bruce Lowe | 5 episodes | |
| L.A.'s Finest | Bishop Duvall | 5 episodes | ||
| Mr. Robot | Freddy Lomax | Episode: "401 Unauthorized" | ||
| Swamp Thing | Shaw | Episode: "Loose Ends" | ||
| 2022 | The Rookie: Feds | Rusty Filmore | Episode: "Star Crossed" | |
| 2023 | Chaos on the Farm | Lawrence | Television film |
Video games
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Spec Ops: The Line | Robert "Radioman" Darden | Voice | [6] |
| 2016 | XCOM 2: War of the Chosen | DJ of Resistance Radio | Voice | |
| 2020 | Predator: Hunting Grounds | Sean Keyes | Voice | [8] |
References
[edit]- ^ Peragine, James. "First Photos: Gary Busey Introduces Son Luke". People. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
- ^ "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series Teaser Video from the Set". Dread Central. March 4, 2015. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ Trumbore, Dave (April 18, 2018). "'Stranger Things' Season 3 Recruits Cary Elwes and Jake Busey for "Sleazy", "Questionable" Roles". Collider. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ Natalie Finn (October 14, 2016). "Hello, grandpa: Gary Busey's son Jake welcomes a daughter". Today. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i TV Guide. "Jake Busey List of Movies and TV Shows - TV Guide". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 7, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Jake Busey (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Archived from the original on December 7, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (January 14, 2026). "Stephen Lang, Jake Busey & Bruce Boxleitner Among Cast For Civil War Drama 'Gettysburg 1863'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
- ^ Gerritzen, Jared (May 26, 2020). "Dutch Arrives in Predator: Hunting Grounds". Epic Games Store. Archived from the original on January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
External links
[edit]- Jake Busey at IMDb
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