Dale Dye
About
Biography
Filmography
Bibliography
Biography
Actor and technical advisor Dale Dye took a circuitous route to a film and TV career--20 years in the Marine Corps. He enlisted as a teenager in 1964, and spent from 1967 to 1970 in Vietnam, where he was wounded in action three times, fought in the Tet Offensive and helped evacuate Saigon and Phnom Penh. Dye served with the British Royal Marine Commandos in Norway and Denmark, and saw duty in Beirut in 1982. After mustering out, he was briefly executive editor of SOLDIER OF FORTUNE magazine.
Frustrated by what he felt were inaccurate military portrayals in Hollywood, Dye landed his first job as a technical advisor (and bit player) in the 1986 sci-fi movie "Invaders from Mars." Forming Warriors, Inc., he set himself up as the film industry's resident drill sergeant and expert on military matters (and went on to land bit parts and more substantial supporting roles as officers, often in the films on which he advised). In 1986, Dye began his longest and perhaps most fruitful screen collaboration with writer-director Oliver Stone. The Oscar-winning "Platoon" (1986) and 1989's "Born on the Fourth of July" both impressed many with realistic depictions of combat in Vietnam. Dye also consulted on Stone's conspiracy-laden "JFK" (1991) and the hyper-violent "Natural Born Killers" (1994).
Dye further earned acclaim for overseeing the realistic military images in such efforts as the underrated "The Beast" (1988), set in Afghanistan, John Frankenheimer's Vietnam drama "The Fourth War" (1990) and Robert Zemickis' Oscar-winning "Forrest Gump" (1994). As an actor, he depicted a captain in Brian De Palma's "Casualties of War" and a fireman in Steven Spielberg's "Always" (both 1989). He co-starred, produced and provided the story for "Fire Birds" (1990), a drama in which the US Army and the Drug Enforcement Agency team up to fight smugglers. Frequently, Dye has portrayed military figures in such films as both "Under Siege" (1992) and its sequel "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" (1994), "Blue Sky" (filmed in 1992; released in 1994) and "Outbreak" (1995). More recently, Dye was the advisor on the military content of such diverse films as Paul Verhoeven's futuristic "Starship Troopers" (1997), Joe Dante's "Small Soldiers" and Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" (both 1998). The latter was especially acclaimed for its reenactment of the storming of Omaha Beach.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Film Production - Unit (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Misc. Crew (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1964
Enlisted in Marine Corps at age 19 (January)
1967
Served in Vietnam
1982
Served in Beirut
1984
Left Marines, served as editor of SOLDIER OF FORTUNE for one year
1986
Film debut (as actor and technical advisor), "Invaders from Mars"
1986
Formed Warriors, Incorporated, a technical advising company (date approximate)
1986
Initial collaboration with Oliver Stone, "Platoon"; served as technical advisor and played small role
1988
TV debut (acting only) in series "Supercarrier" (ABC)
1989
Reunited with Stone as both technical advisor and actor in "Born on the Fourth of July"
1989
First collaboration with Steven Spielberg, acted in "Always"
1990
Debut as producer, also provided story and co-starred in "Fire Birds"
1991
Reteamed with Oliver Stone for "JFK"
1992
Had featured role in "Under Seige"
1992
Was military technical advisor on Michael Mann's "The Last of the Mohicans"
1993
Fourth collaboration with Stone, "Heaven and Earth"
1994
Served as technical advisor on Robert Zemeckis' Oscar-winner "Forrest Gump", starring Tom Hanks
1994
Reteamed with Oliver Stone for a fifth time on "Natural Born Killers"
1994
Reprised role in sequel "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory"
1997
Acted as military technical advisor on "Starship Troopers"
1998
Served as technical advisor on Steven Spielberg's WWII-era drama "Saving Private Ryan", starring Tom Hanks; also had small role
2001
Served as techinical advisor and appeared in the WWII-era HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers"
