William Jacob Busey (; 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 in the video game Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020). Busey also appears as a journalist in the third season of Stranger Things.
Early life Busey is the son of Judy Helkenberg and actor Gary Busey.
Career 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. Additionally, he has had major roles in Peter Jackson's The Frighteners (1996) with Michael J. Fox, Home Fries (1998) with Drew Barrymore and Luke Wilson, Tomcats (2001) opposite Jerry O'Connell and Shannon Elizabeth, James Mangold's thriller Identity (2003), The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting (2003) with C. Thomas Howell, and Road House 2 (2006). 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. Busey played the role of "Backfire" in Patrick Durham's movie Cross which was released directly to DVD and download in May 2011, and starred in the independent film Don't Pass Me By (2012).
He has also had minor parts in films like The Stoned Age (1994), PCU (1994), I'll Do Anything (1994), Windrunner: A Spirited Journey (1995) starring Jason Wiles, Twister (1996) starring Helen Hunt, Enemy of the State (1998) starring Will Smith, Fast Sofa (2001) with Jennifer Tilly and Natasha Lyonne, Christmas with the Kranks (2004) starring Tim Allen, The Killing Jar (2010), and Reaper (2014) 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 from 2014 to 2016 in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series.
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. He also portrayed Sean H. Keyes in the film The Predator (2018) and the video game Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020). In 2019, Busey joined the cast of Stranger Things in the third season portraying a journalist named Bruce Lowe.
Personal life Busey and his girlfriend have a daughter.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Reference(s) 1978 Straight Time Henry Darin 1982 Barbarosa Cook Boy 1989 Hider in the House Teenage Tom Sykes Voice 1993 Shimmer Richard Halverson 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 Fast Sofa Rick Jeffers 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 The Tao of Pong Maurice Short film 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 Nazis at the Center of the Earth Adrian Reistad Direct-to-video Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta! Oscar Direct-to-video; voice 2013 Girl Meets Boy Richard 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 Filming +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released
Television Year Title Role Notes Reference(s) 1992 Cruel Doubt Student Television film 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 2012 The Finder Bobby the Twin Episode: "Swing and a Miss" 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 + List of Jake Busey video games credits Year Title Role Notes Reference(s) 2012 Spec Ops: The Line Robert "Radioman" Darden Voice 2016 XCOM 2: War of the Chosen DJ of Resistance Radio Voice 2020 Predator: Hunting Grounds Sean Keyes Voice
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