Lifer was a supporting antagonist and an associate of Marshall Murdock that helped to betray John Rambo.
He was portrayed by Steve Williams.
Biography[]
Lifer first appears as a seedy-looking character at the hangar. He is later seen accompanying Ericson and John Rambo to the drop point in Vietnam. After Rambo attempts to jump, his parachute is tangled in the plane and he is dragged through the air, forcing him to cut through his bonds after Lifer was unable to free him.
Later when Ericson flies the helicopter near Rambo to rescue him from hostile North Vietnamese soldiers, they are told to abort the mission. Trautman protests, only to have Lifer hold his SIG-Sauer P226 pistol on him (which was the first appearance of that gun in a film). Ericson hears the commotion and Trautman asserts that "our men" are down there, to which Lifer repsonds that they are his men, not theirs, reminding him not to be a hero. Ericson reluctantly flies away, leaving Rambo.
When Rambo returns to the hangar, he blames both Ericson and Lifer for leaving them behind although he only hits Ericson in his stomach and face with his machine gun. It is possible he saw what happened to Ericson and knew he could have been next. After dealing with Murdock, Rambo walks by and glares directly at the cowardly Lifer, who turns away and hides amongst the rescued POWs.
Lifer dodged a bullet since Rambo didn't take too kindly to their betrayal and most definitely would have given him a piece of his mind like he did to Murdock and Ericson, had he not been helping the POWs that he showed no care for earlier.
Lifer (Steve Williams) pulls a gun on Colonel Sam Trautman in Rambo: First Blood Part II.
Trivia[]
Lifer in the game.
In the Novelization of Rambo: First Blood Part II, Lifer is for some reason renamed Doyle, and is the same character albeit with a different name. Ericson is also made to be as heartless as Lifer in the book as well.
Lifer is often wrongly called "Banks". Banks is a completely different character who was a POW seen in the film.
Lifer carries a West German SIG-Sauer P226 pistol as his main sidearm, which he carries (rather dangerously) with the hammer cocked. If you look at the gun, you may notice that it is not converted to fire blanks or appear worn in any way. It should be noted that at the time of Rambo: First Blood Part II's release, the P226 was a brand new gun (not yet on the market at the time) that was hoping to win the spot of the US Military sidearm, likely the reason for its appearance in the film, making it a "hero gun". At the time, the P226 was an obscure handgun, but now the P226 has earned a reputation as one of the greatest handguns ever designed.
In the video game, Lifer looks significantly different and carries a 1911 as a sidearm instead of a P226.
Lifer's potrayer, Steve Williams only starred in Rambo: First Blood Part II before presumably stepping away from acting.
