 MEL GIBSON (Martin Riggs)became an international star with his performance as the hero of the post-apocalyptic wasteland in the hit "Mad Max" films directed by George Miller. The trilogy included "Mad Max," "The Road Warrior," and "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome."
Born in upstate New York, Gibson moved with his family to Australia when he was 11 years old. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney to begin a three year study program. Midway through the course, he auditioned for a role in a low-budget action film to be shot in Melbourne and was cast immediately in the title role by then-fledgling director George Miller. Gibson left his studies long enough to make his screen debut as Mad Max.
The movie brought instant renown to both director and star, but Gibson returned to Sydney to complete his NIDA classes and to gather some practical experience in the theater.
He moved to Adelaide, joined the State Theatre Company of South Australia, and won excellent reviews for his work in "Romeo and Juliet," "Waiting for Godot," and the Australian hit play, "No Names, No Pack Drill."
Gibson's film career, meanwhile, began to expand. His second role, as the mentally disabled protagonist of "Tim," opposite Piper Laurie, brought him the Australian Film Institute's Best Actor Award -- the equivalent of an Oscar. His performance as the young idealist shocked at the obscenity of war in Peter Weir's "Gallipoli" made him a two-time winner.
Reunited with Weir for "The Year of Living Dangerously," Gibson starred with Sigourney Weaver as an Australian journalist caught in the political upheaval of Indonesia. He returned to the stage in a much-praised revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman"; and then starred as Fletcher Christian in the classic "Munity on the Bounty."
In 1984, Gibson made his American screen debut as a farmer trapped by economic circumstance in "The River," opposite Sissy Spacek. In "Mrs. Soffel," he starred with Diane Keaton as the romantic hero of a true life prison escape.
 DANNY GLOVER (Roger Murtaugh) won both audience attention and critical praise for his performance as Mister in Steven Spielberg's screen adaptation of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple."
A complex and controversial role, Mister was a far cry from Moses, the cotton farmer who joins forces with Sally Field in the Academy Award-winning "Places in the Heart," or the equally sympathetic role of Mal in the western "Silverado." On the opposite end of the character range, he played the villainous police detective pursuing Harrison Ford in "Witness." Earlier feature credits include "Chu Chu and the Philly Flash," "Iceman" and "Escape From Alcatraz."
A native of San Francisco, Glover attended San Francisco State University and trained at the Black Actors' Workshop of the
American Conservatory Theatre. He has appeared in numerous stage productions, including "The Island" at the Eureka Theatre, and in "Macbeth" and "Sizwe Banzi is Dead" at the Los Angeles Actors Theatre. He also appeared in Sam Shepard's "Suicide in B Flat" and in "The Blood Knot" at the Roundabout Theater in New York.
Glover has also guest starred in several episodes of the award-winning series "Hill Street Blues," in the PBS series "Many Mansions," the mini-series "Chiefs," and the television movie "Face of Rage."
GARY BUSEY (Joshua) completed filming on two other features prior to joining the cast of "Lethal Weapon." In Tri-Star's "Let's Get Harry," which was shot in Mexico, he was teamed with Robert Duvall and Glenn Frye in Stuart Rosenberg's thriller about a group of men attempting a dangerous rescue mission in South America. In "Eye of the Tiger" for the Scotti Bros., he starred in the drama adventure with Yaphet Kotto.
Busey first came to national attention with his performance in the 1975 version of "A Star is Born," moving on to play the title role in "The Buddy Holly Story," a performance which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations as well as Best Actor of the Year Award by the National Society of Film Critics.
Additional feature credits include the role of The Ballplayer in Nicholas Roeg's "Insignificance," Stephen King's "Silver Bullet," "The Bear," in which he portrayed the legendary coach Paul Bryant, "Straight Time," "The Last American Hero," "D.C. Cab," "Big Wednesday," "Carny," and "Barbarosa."
Recent Busey performances this past year were in "The Hitchhiker" for HBO, earning him an Ace Award nomination, and in "Half A Lifetime," also for HBO.
Busey grew up in Texas and Oklahoma, playing football and rock 'n' roll music at Kansas State University. He began his career as a singer/drummer in a group called Carp, which recorded an LP for CBS/Epic Records.
MITCHELL RYAN (The General) has an extensive list of feature film credits that include "The Friends of Eddie Coyle," "The Hunting Party," "Marty Walsh," "The Old Man's Place," "The Honkers," and "Electraglide in Blue."
His appearances in made-for-television movies and mini-series include "Fatal Vision," "Of Mice and Men," "North and South," "Robert Kennedy and His Times," and "The Dorothy Stratten Story." He has also appeared in numerous TV series as a guest star or series regular.
Ryan's many New York theatre credits include "The Price," "Wait Until Dark," and "Moon for the Misbegotten."
As Managing Artist of the Los Angeles Actors Theatre, he has also starred in many of that organization's stage productions.
TOM ATKINS (Michael Hunsaker) appeared in the films "Halloween III," "Escape from New York," "The Fog," "The Detective," "The Owl and the Pussycat," and "Where's Poppa?"
In addition to numerous appearances in episodic television, including recurring roles on "Serpico" and "The Rockford Files," Atkins starred in the CBS movie "Blind Justice." Additional roles include many television movies, among them, "Murder Me, Murder You," "Skeezer," "Sherlock Holmes," "Desperate Lives," and "Power, An American Saga."
Atkins' stage roles have taken him from Broadway to repertory theatres around the country. He won the Drama Desk Award for his performance in "The Changing Room" on Broadway, where he also appeared in "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife," and "The Front Page."
Off-Broadway he appeared in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "Whistle in the Dark" and "The Contractor."
DARLENE LOVE (Trish Murtaugh) has been a legend in the music world since the early '60s and is best known for her work with another pop music legend, Phil Spector. Love's powerful lead voice can be heard on such classic records as the #1 hit, "He's A Rebel" (released under the name of The Crystals); the Top 10 success, "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah" (Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans), and the Top 40 hit, "Wait 'Til My Bobby Gets Home" (under her own name).
Love, the recipient of an NAACP Image Award, has always been a much-sought-after background vocalist, both individually and in concert with her own singing trio, The Blossoms. She has backed Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, The Beach Boys, The Mamas and The Papas, Tom Jones, Luther Vandross, Clarence Clemons, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, to name but a few. She was also a featured vocalist on "Sun City."
Love and The Blossoms were regularly featured on "Shindig," the quintessential pop music TV show of the '60s. They appeared in the cult concert movie "The T.A.M.I. Show" (1964), and, four years later, in the Blake Edwards/Peter Sellers collaboration "The Party," singing the title song.
Love recently starred on Broadway in the hit musical "Leader of the Pack," songwriter Ellie Greenwich's celebration of the classic girl group sound that together and separately both women helped to define.
In addition to making her dramatic acting debut in "Lethal Weapon," Love will have her first solo album released in 1987 on CBS.
TRACI WOLFE (Rianne Murtaugh) makes her feature film debut as the teenage daughter of Danny Glover and Darlene Love. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Wolfe moved with her family to Richmond,
Viriginia, where she attended high school and a year of college before deciding to become an actress. She began working professionally as a model in magazines and on television, first in Richmond and later in Washington, D.C.
Encouraged by her success in Washington, D.C., Wolfe moved to New York where she signed with the Wilhelmina Agency. This season she landed her first professional acting job as a guest star on "The Cosby Show." She continues to model and attend acting classes in New York City.
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