There are actors that stand out because they happened to show up in certain movies alongside people that became extremely famous or were already famous, and that’s the category that Rick Rossovich tends to fit into since he’s been in show business for a while despite taking breaks here and there for reasons that would take a slightly more extensive search to figure out. One movie you might remember him from is The Terminator, the ill-fated boyfriend of Sarah Connor’s roommate that had the misfortune of meeting the T-800 face to face and thinking that he could take on the mountain of muscle that assaulted him while his girlfriend was in the kitchen getting a snack. One thing though, were those headphones she was wearing really capable of reducing the noise of her boyfriend being beaten to death or did she have the music turned up to concert level? Anyway, Rick went on to star in several other movies and in several TV movies as well as a few series throughout his career. At this time he’s still working but it doesn’t appear as though he’s been working steadily since there are a few blank spots in his resume that show he’s either taken time off or gone on to other pursuits.
Another reason we’re talking about him is that he did show up in the original Top Gun movie, and with the announcement of Top Gun: Maverick coming out eventually you can bet that we’ll be talking about the original cast a bit from this point until next summer. If you don’t remember just who he played he was known as Ron “Slider” Kerner, another pilot in the Top Gun program but one that didn’t get a whole lot of development. In fact some of the movies that he might have really made bank from were those that he didn’t get a huge part in but was more of a glorified extra who was there because he looked the part and was able to hit his mark and memorize his lines as needed. In a big way that’s what Rick has been, an extra for the blockbuster movies and a noticeable talent for those movies and shows that many people might not remember. You can’t call him unsuccessful though since really he’s been in show business long enough to be rightfully called a veteran and while his net worth, around $800 thousand, isn’t all that impressive when compared to many others, it’s still an accomplishment that he can be proud of since he’s been able to hang with some of the best in the business and be counted as a celebrity for this long.
It’s easy to think that a lot of people might not know who he is since his name alone might not be enough for a lot of people to recall but his face would be easy enough for those that fell in love with movies like the Terminator, Top Gun, and even Navy SEALs along with Charlie Sheen and Terminator alum Michael Biehn. Rick has been there, done that, and despite the fact that many people might not credit him for such an accomplishment those of us that remember the guy can say that he was good for the part he was picked for and likely did pretty well on the B scene as well. His roles on TV were obviously good enough to keep him around for a while though it does look as though he bounced around and took some time to himself now and again, perhaps to avoid burning out completely. If you think about it a lot of folks in the 80s suffered massive burnout after a while as some saw their careers go down the tube for one reason or another or some saw it rise to such a massive height that they weren’t ready to deal with it. In any case it would appear that Rick weathered those times just fine since he’s still around and at the age of 62 he’s still looking pretty good and fit to take on another decade or so of shows and possibly TV movies to keep paying the bills.
The one thing any actor probably never wants to hear is ‘who is that person?’ when people are looking at them, but for actors like Rick this kind of has to be second nature since a lot of people are likely to not know who he is unless they’ve followed his career or happen to watch the movies and shows that he’s most prominent in. After all, in The Terminator he was there long enough to establish that he was the boyfriend and then he was taken out pretty handily. In Top Gun and Navy SEALs was a little more prominent but not much. If Rick has any real claim to fame, and he does, it’s the work he’s done on TV and the fact that he’s been around for so long.
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