Profiles in Grieco (Part II)

For the second installment of this groundbreaking series, I present a man that I am sure you are all familiar with. He is an actor that can say more with his 5:00 shadow than most can with a 2-page monologue. His name has come up more than once recently at GIK, and I thought it was time we gave him his proper due.

Michael Biehn
Biehn is best known for his nearly identical performances as Reese and Hicks in The Terminator and Aliens, respectively. (note: these are not to be confused with his role in The Abyss, which is totally different because it’s underwater.) In both movies he plays a badass from the future who has what it takes to woo a tough chick from the past (Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver). He also has the right combination of raw machismo and sensitivity to battle an evil robot or evil aliens before dying or getting severely wounded before the last scene, allowing the ladies to finish the job. However, Biehn is more than just a futuristic Lieutenant or Corporal. He’s also a modern-day Navy Seal. Or at least he was in Navy Seals (clearly a 3 ½ -Grieco film) and The Rock (easily 4-Griecos). Biehn also appears in what is perhaps the most GIK-worthy film of all time; Megiddo: The Omega Code 2. Seriously, it’s like a remake of Omega Code 1, but it ignores all the stuff that Casper Van Dien accomplished battling the Antichrist in the original. I dare you to watch them back-to-back. Bts and I took it on once, and we were never quite the same. Anyway, back to Biehn. While I love all of his sci-fi work (including his “Head of FEMA” role in the made-for-television hit, Asteroid), my favorite Biehn performance is that of Johnny Ringo in Tombstone. The scene where he and Doc Holliday (Kilmer at his most brilliant) have a battle of wits in Latin is one of the greatest moments in the history of the world. Overstatement? Peshaw! Try to name 3 things that are better. You can’t.

Like Joe Don Baker, Biehn’s role in Hollywood is slowly disappearing. People just don’t have the balls to deal with what Biehn is brining anymore. He is, in many ways, the classic rock to Grieco’s glam. Would Grieco exist without him? Probably. But he wouldn’t kick near as much ass and his hair wouldn’t look half as cool.