To serve one’s country is considered an incredible sacrifice, and no more so than during a time of war. Men and women of all walks of life have committed themselves to the various branches of the United States Military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Coast Guard – in an effort to serve their nation in any way possible. Many of those who join are average citizens; what may come as a surprise to some is that even several of the biggest actors in Hollywood have dedicated a portion of their lives to the U.S. Armed Forces.
The reasoning behind why people enlist differs from person to person. Countless individuals sign up as a desire to serve their country, a way for them to protect the nation and its citizens that they may know and love. Others join for a specific reason – they may wish to gain valuable experience and see the world, while some yet still hope to attend college with the help of the GI Bill or obtain knowledge in a specific field that can carry over into their everyday lives.
During World War II, there were more than 250 films created that focused on the war (to date, there are more than 1,300 films dealing with the same topic). These movies had storylines that supported the Allied war effort and were considered significantly import, so much so that many famous stars could have avoided service at a time when the draft was in full effect.
However, many of them chose to enter service voluntarily (although some were also drafted) with the thought that they would rather be real soldiers or sailors than simply playing them on screen. Henry Fonda famously said “I don’t want to be in a fake war in a studio”, and some displayed some true bravery: Jimmy Stewart, for example, flew 20 missions on a B-24 Liberator bomber over Nazi-occupied Europe during the war, and retired as a brigadier general from the Air Force in 1968. (These are the best military movies of all time.)
To compile a list of famous actors who served in the U.S. military, whether they were volunteers or because they were drafted, 24/7 Tempo reviewed military-related sites such as the United Service Organizations (USO) and the National WWII Museum, as well as features written for the U.S. Department of Defense. The military experience listed below is only partial in most cases, and while it may be hard to envision well-known performers like Chuck Norris, Ice-T, and comedian Mel Brooks in the military, they did their part for their country by donning a uniform. (Many future chief executives of the United States were in the armed forces, as well. These are the presidents who served in the military.)
We excluded some celebrities who served their country in wartime but were not actually in the armed forces – for instance, Betty White, who in 1941 joined the American Women’s Voluntary Services, a volunteer support organization and not part of the military. We have also omitted people who became actors after their military service – most notably Western movie star Audie Murphy, one of America’s most decorated soldiers in WWII but who didn’t start acting until after the war, in 1948.
Here are famous actors who served in the U.S. military:
Humphrey Bogart
N/A
- Enlisted in: 1918
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Best known for: “Casablanca,” “The African Queen,” “To Have and Have Not”
Bogart served as coxswain in addition to ferring troops between Europe and the U.S. after the armistice. He tried to re-enlist during WWII but rejected due to age.
James ‘Jimmy’ Stewart
- Enlisted in: 1941
- Branch of Service: Army Air Corps
- Best known for: “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “It’s a Wonderful Life”
Steward piloted a B-24 Liberator and served with the Strategic Air Command after 1947. He retired as brigadier-general, highest rank of any actor in military history.
Clark Gable
- Enlisted in: 1942
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces
- Best known for: “It Happened One Night,” “Gone with the Wind, and “Anatomy of a Murder”
Gable flew combat missions as part of motion picture unit out of England with the U.S. 351st Bomb Group.
Henry Fonda
- Enlisted in: 1942
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Best known for: “12 Angry Men,” “On Golden Pond,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” and “The Wrong Man”
Fonda served as quartermaster on a destroyer and joined the Air Combat Intelligence Unit in the Pacific. He served three years in Naval Reserve.
Bea Arthur
Publicity photo of Beatrice Arthur in Maude.
- Enlisted in: 1943
- Branch of Service: Marine Corps Women’s Reserve
- Best known for: “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “The Golden Girls”
Arthur was a truck driver and dispatcher and was honorably discharged in 1945 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Kirk Douglas
- Enlisted in: 1943
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Best known for: “Spartacus, “The Vikings,” “Lust for Life”
Douglas was a gunnery and communications officer in anti-submarine warfare in the Pacific
Paul Newman
- Enlisted in: 1943
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Best known for: “Cool Hand Luke,” “The Hustler,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”
Newman was trained as a radioman and rear gunner, and flew with torpedo squadrons.
Harry Belafonte
- Enlisted in: 1944
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Best known for: “Odds Against Tomorrow,” “Kansas City,” “Bobby”
Belafonte loaded military ships for the Pacific theater in a segregated unit.
Mel Brooks
- Enlisted in: 1944
- Branch of Service: Army
- Best known for: “Spaceballs,” “The Producers,” and “Blazing Saddles”
Brooks served as a combat engineer deactivating land mines and booby traps. After WWII, he toured army bases as an entertainer.
Sidney Poitier
- Enlisted in: 1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Best known for: “In the Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Lilies of the Field”
Poitier lied about his age to enlist and worked with psychiatric patients at a VA hospital.
Gene Hackman
N/A
- Enlisted in: 1946
- Branch of Service: Marine Corps
- Best known for: “The French Connection,” The Conversation,” “Unforgiven”
Hackman lied about his age to enlist and worked as a field radio operator in China, Japan, and Hawaii.
Steve McQueen
- Enlisted in: 1947
- Branch of Service: Marines
- Best known for: “The Great Escape,” “Bullitt,” “The Getaway,” and “Papillon”
McQueen was assigned to an armored unit and was demoted from PFC to private seven times. He went absent without leave, resisted arrest, and served 41 days in the brig.
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood as The Man With No Name in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
- Drafted in: 1951
- Branch of Service: Army
- Best known for: “Unforgiven,” “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” “Million Dollar Baby”
Eastwood was a lifeguard and a swimming instructor at Fort Ord, California, during the Korean War.
James Earl Jones
- Drafted in: 1953
- Branch of Service: Army
- Military experience: Attended Ranger School; helped establish a cold-weather training facility in Colorado
- Best known for: “The Lion King,” Voice of Darth Vader in the first Star Wars movies, “Coming to America”
Jones attended Ranger School and helped establish a cold-weather training facility in Colorado.
Robert Duvall
- Drafted in: 1953
- Branch of Service: Army
- Military experience: Served after the end of the Korean War, attaining the rank of Private First Class
- Best known for: “Apocalypse Now,” “The Apostle,” “Open Range,” “Tender Mercies”
Duvall served after the end of the Korean War and attained the rank of Private First Class.
Moses Gunn
- Drafted in: 1954
- Branch of Service: Army
- Best known for: “Shaft,” “Heartbreak Ridge,” “Ragtime,” and “Rollerball”
Gunn served for three years in Germany (details are unknown about his service).
Morgan Freeman
- Enlisted in: 1955
- Branch of Service: Air Force
- Best known for: “Driving Miss Daisy,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Se7en”
Freeman worked as a radar repairman and was honorably discharged as an airman first class
Alan Alda
- Enlisted in: 1956
- Branch of Service: Army Reserve
- Best known for: “M.A.S.H.,” “The Four Seasons,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors”
Alda served at Fort Benning and then spent six months as a gunnery officer in Korea.
Gene Wilder
N/A
- Drafted in: 1956
- Branch of Service: Army
- Best known for: “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein”
Wilder joined the medical corps where he served as a paramedic at Valley Forge Army Hospital.
Chuck Norris
- Enlisted in: 1957
- Branch of Service: Air Force
- Best known for: “Way of the Dragon,” “Walker, Texas Ranger”
Norris served as an Air Policeman in South Korea and California.
Elvis Presley
- Drafted in: 1958
- Branch of Service: Army
- Best known for: “Girls! Girls! Girls!” “Tickle Me,” and “G.I. Blues”
Presley served as an armor intelligence specialist with the 3rd Armored Division in Germany.
Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson in Flashpoint (1984)
- Enlisted in: 1960
- Branch of Service: Army
- Military experience: Trained as a helicopter pilot; completed Ranger School; taught English at West Point
- Best known for: “A Star Is Born,” “Blade,” “Payback”
Kristofferson trained as a helicopter pilot. He completed Ranger School and taught English at West Point.
Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I.
- Enlisted in: 1967
- Branch of Service: National Guard
- Best known for: “Blue Bloods,” “Magnum P.I.,” and “Three Man and a Baby”
Selleck served in the 160th Infantry Regiment of the California National Guard, and avoided being drafted into the army.
Ice-T
N/A
- Enlisted in: 1977
- Branch of Service: Army
- Best known for: “Rhyme Pays” and other rap albums, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “New Jack City”
Rapper-turned-actor Ice-T served in the 25th Infantry Division and became a squad leader in Hawaii.
Rob Riggle
- Enlisted in: 1990
- Branch of Service: Marine Corps
- Best known for: “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “The Hangover,” “The Daily Show”
Riggle was a public relations officer in New York City and served in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and elsewhere. He retired as lieutenant colonel.
Jennifer Marshall
- Enlisted in: 1998
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Best known for: “Stranger Things,” “Timeless,” “Mysteries Decoded”
Marshall worked in aviation logistics in California and on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier as well as being deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Adam Driver
- Enlisted in: 2001
- Branch of Service: Marine Corps
- Best known for: Star Wars films, “Marriage Story,” “Paterson”
Driver enlisted after September 11 and served as a mortar man with the 1st Marines.
J.R. Martinez
- Enlisted in: 2002
- Branch of Service: Army
- Best known for: “All My Children,” “SAF3,” “Army Wives”
Martinez served with the 101st Airborne Division and was deployed to Iraq, where he was seriously injured by an IED.