Who Is Gary Busey on ‘Dancing With the Stars’?

Gary Busey is one of the celebrity contestants on Season 21 of Dancing with the Stars. If you were born after 1990, you might not know what he’s originally famous for – acting. Busey was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor for his performance in the title role in The Buddy Holly Story (1978). Busey played the guitar and sang all the vocals! (P.S. He’s a talented drummer, too. He’s played with the bands of Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.)

[‘Dancing With the Stars’ Voting Phone Numbers, Online Voting, Fall 2015]

Busey landed another choice role as Mr. Joshua, the brutal assassin who tries to kill Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the 1987 film Lethal Weapon. A year later he nearly died of head injuries in a motorcycle accident. He recovered and made a big comeback as an FBI agent alongside Keanu Reeves in the cult classic Point Break (1991). And then Busey drove Tommy Lee Jones crazy in the 1992 thriller Under Siege. In the 21st century, Busey has appeared in several reality TV shows including Celebrity Wife Swap, Celebrity Apprentice, and Celebrity Big Brother UK (he was the first American to win). On Dancing with the Stars, Busey, 71, is partnered with professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya. DWTS premieres Monday, September 14 at 8pm on ABC.