The Young Guns movies featured a wealth of acting talent, including some surprisingly familiar faces. 1988’s Young Gun featured an all-star ensemble cast for its action-adventure Western. The sequel, 1990’s Young Guns 2, expanded the cast even further with a packed line-up of famous actors.
Young Guns starred Emilio Estevez as William H. “Billy the Kid” Bonney in an adaptation of the infamous gunslinger’s life. After their benefactor is slain, Billy and his troupe of renegades (known as the Regulators) enact a violent revenge which leads to them becoming the hunted. Young Guns 2 depicted the further exploits of Estevez’s Billy the Kid, specifically the years leading up to his death. Estevez was praised for his performance and was even hoping for a Young Guns 3. However, he’s hardly the only notable cast member in The Young Guns films.
12 Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland appears in both Young Guns and Young Guns 2, as Josiah Gordon “Doc” Scurlock – Billy’s second in command. During the first Young Guns, Josiah has a romance with Yen Sun (Alice Carter) and spends much of his time composing poetry. In Young Guns 2, Josiah is gunned down as he attempts to save the Regulators from an ambush. Sutherland is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in 24, and the wildly different Rabbit Hole Hero. Sutherland’s other notable roles include Phone Booth and Melancholia.
11 Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen appears throughout the first half of Young Guns, as Richard “Dick” Brewer, the founder and original leader of the Regulators. Dick and Billy clash frequently in the first act of Young Guns, until Dick is slain by Buckshot Roberts and Billy assumes the leadership. Sheen is a particularly famous actor, known for starring in the movies Hot Shots, and The Three Musketeers, and the television sitcom Two and a Half Men.
10 Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips plays another main character from Young Guns and Young Guns 2, Jose Chavez y Chavez. Chavez’s most memorable scene occurs in the first Young Guns when he passionately and emotionally describes the injustices his people suffered on Native American reservations. Lou Diamond Phillips is also known for appearing in Courage Under Fire, La Bamba, and Stand and Deliver.
9 Dermot Mulroney
Dermot Mulroney stars as one of the Regulators, known as “Dirty” Steve Stephens. Steve is gunned down during the climactic ending of Young Guns while rescuing a wounded Chavez. Mulroney is rather unrecognizable as Steve, but audiences will know him for his movie roles in My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Family Stone, and Scream 6. Mulroney also appeared as Dusty in Arrested Development and as the despicable news anchor, Bob Thompson, in American Horror Story: Cult.
8 Tom Cruise
The star of Mission Impossible and countless other blockbuster movies, Tom Cruise has a brief cameo in Young Guns. Tom Cruise plays an unnamed minion who besieges the Regulators during the final scene. He is fairly obscured by smoke but can be observed taking aim at the Regulators, before being shot and collapsing on the floor. Cruise’s appearance in Young Guns came just two years after Top Gun, meaning the actor had made his big break at that point but wasn’t quite the household name he is today.
7 Terry O’Quinn
Terry O’Quin is probably best known for his role as John Locke in the ABC television series Lost. He has also made notable appearances in The X-Files, The Stepfather, and Heaven’s Gate. In Young Guns, O’Quinn plays lawyer Alexander McSween, the man who deputizes the Regulators. Alexander is gunned down during the final shootout in Young Guns after assisting several Regulators in their escape.
6 Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen joined the cast ensemble for Young Guns 2, playing John W. Poe. Mortensen’s most memorable appearance in Young Guns 2 was as one of the men who ambush the Regulators and was subsequently knocked down by Hendry William French. Mortensen is most famous for playing Aragorn throughout The Lords of the Rings trilogy, but is also known for his roles in Daylight and G.I. Jane.
5 Christian Slater
Christian Slater also joined the cast for Young Guns 2, playing “Arkansas” Dave Rudabaugh. Dave is a reckless outlaw who joins the Regulators and fights alongside them throughout, becoming one of the movie’s central characters. Christian Slater has had several highly-regarded roles throughout his career, his most notable movies include True Romance, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and Broken Arrow.
4 Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp is a critically acclaimed actor known for his performances in The Limey, Song for Marion, and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert. Stamp only appears during the opening act of Young Guns, portraying John Tunstall. John is the English rancher and benefactor who has employed the main characters, and whose death instigates the revenge plot and the formation of the Regulators.
3 Alan Ruck
Alan Ruck appears in Young Guns 2, playing Hendry William French. Hendry is initially employed by the Regulators as a farmhand but is soon caught up in gunslingers’ antics and becomes an essential member of the gang. Alan Ruck is perhaps best known for playing Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Ruck has, however, appeared in a litany of other film roles, including Speed, Bad Boys, and Twister.
2 Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford also joins the roster for Young Guns 2, portraying Charles Phalen. Charles Phalen only appears in the opening scene, as the attorney contacted by a man claiming to be the real Billy the Kid, and to whom the movie’s narrative is being relayed. Whitford would subsequently star in the political drama The West Wing, and Jake Peralta’s father in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Whitford has also appeared in many movies, most notably Get Out, Saving Mr. Banks, and The Cabin in the Woods.
1 Jon Bon Jovi
Rock music legend Jon Bon Jovi makes a brief cameo in Young Guns 2. The Bon Jovi lead singer plays a bandit attempting to escape during the prison scene. He has no lines, but does provide the Young Guns sequel with its end credits theme, “Blaze of Glory.” Interestingly, Jon Bon Jovi has had several other acting appearances, including New Year’s Eve, No Looking Back, and an extended role in the television series Ally McBeal.
