 The videotape demonstration was not the only factor which got  R. Lee Ermey (qv) the role as the drill instructor. Ermey went to  Stanley Kubrick (qv) and asked for the part, as the actors on the  set were, in his opinion, not up to snuff. When Kubrick declined,  Ermey barked an order for Kubrick to stand up when he was spoken to,  and the director instinctively obeyed. That sealed the matter, and  Ermey won the part as Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann.