Why Detective Kevin Raines From Death Wish Looks So Familiar

After about a solid decade in various law enforcement roles, Dean Norris transitioned to an important role in Federal Military Service. In 1997, Paul Verhoeven's cult sci-fi action flick "Starship Troopers" was released upon a world not quite ready for the satirical tale of military fascism and gooey alien insect explosions. It was mostly panned by critics upon its theatrical release, though history has been kinder to the film, which spawned two direct-to-video sequels, an animated series and two animated features. The 1997 film follows Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) in his journey through the Federation's Mobile Infantry after enlisting because his ex-girlfriend, Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards), wanted to be a pilot for the Fleet. While training to fight the alien menace, Rico washes out of basic training after an unfortunate mishap, though he reconsiders after a massive attack levels his hometown. 

Dean Norris appears in a pivotal role with a character name that doesn't befit the magnitude of his influence. As "Commanding Officer," he's responsible for allowing Rico back into the mobile infantry, despite him having already signed the paperwork to quit. It's pretty important, considering there's no real second or third act without Rico. But when Sergeant Zim (Clancy Brown) — Rico's squad instructor — wants to get back to fighting, Commanding Officer tells him he'd have to have his rank reduced to private in order to do so. 

As viewers know, that's exactly what Zim did, ultimately capturing the Brain Bug on Planet P. But Commanding Officer is the true hero of the story, having saved the movie by allowing Johnny to return to service and inspiring Zim to drop to private, enabling him to accomplish great things. Such a pivotal role and Dean Norris' character didn't even get a name.