R. Lee Ermey went to director Stanley Kubrick and asked for the role of Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann. In his opinion, the actors on the set were not up to snuff. When Kubrick declined, Ermey barked an order for Kubrick to stand up when he was spoken to, and the director instinctively obeyed. Ermey got the role.
Director Stanley Kubrick had nothing but praise for R. Lee Ermey's skills as a performer. Kubrick originally was going to write dialogue for Ermey's character himself, but he became so impressed with what Ermey improvised, he decided it was not necessary. He simply let him ad-lib, an act practically unheard of for a Stanley Kubrick film. Ermey's performances were so faultless that Kubrick only needed two to three takes to get his scenes filmed, which was also extremely rare for a Kubrick film. The only instance Ermey had to film more than two to three takes was in the "Jelly Doughnut Scene," which he claimed was filmed in 37 takes, to the point his voice kept disappearing from time to time.
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