Seven years after Total Recall, Dean Norris reunited with director Paul Verhoeven for Starship Troopers, a massively underrated critique of nationalism, fascism, and the military. This gore-soaked satire follows a rich kid named Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) who joins the Mobile Infantry after graduation. Eventually, he'll ship off to the desert planet of Klendathu to battle an army of arachnids, but before he starts shooting at space bugs, Rico first has to pass basic training.
After showing up at boot camp, Rico quickly impresses his superiors and is promoted to squad leader. Unfortunately, his newfound position doesn't last very long. During a live-fire exercise, Rico tries to help one of his friends with a malfunctioning helmet, but his good intentions result in his comrade taking a bullet to the brain. As a result, Rico is brought before a commanding officer (Norris) who grills Rico for failing to follow safety regulations.
In true Dean Norris fashion, he's grumpy and gruff, but he isn't willing to kick Rico out of the army. Seeing potential in the young soldier, Norris decides to keep him on ... but first he wants to apply a little "administrative punishment." That's military-speak for "flogging," and the officer orders Rico to undergo ten lashes. All in all, it's two quick scenes, back to back, and Norris is only on-screen for a couple of minutes. Still, the actor manages to stand out anyway thanks to his surly attitude, and in a movie populated with character actors like Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside, that's a pretty impressive feat.
