Last week as I was eating my daily enormous breakfast while getting ready for work, I decided to stray from the normal programming of watching the same Saved by the Bell episodes.  You would think networks would realize people like to watch TV while eating breakfast, and frankly ESPN has become one giant soap opera that I’m not sure what the difference will be between that and the new TMZ Sports that will be launching.  Getting basically all of my sports fix on news, commentary, insights, and scores online now, I usually go with Saved by the Bell in the morning.  This day was different, maybe it was the new Fruity Cheerios I recently have taken a liking to, or some cosmic force, but I began searching through the HBO channels to see if there was any decent movies on.  And sure enough I came across Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.  The sequel to the cult classic movie of 2 years earlier of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, about two brain dead guys from California whose dream of starting their own rock band is in jeopardy if they cannot pass their history test.  Yes I know what you are thinking….classic!

Anyways, I was watching the movie for about 20 minutes, and everyone who watches this will automatically recognize one face in the movie.  Ted, played by yours truly, awful actor yet somehow became a star Keanu Reeves.  The typical story of events when someone watches this movie goes like this.

Person A: No way, isn’t that Keanu Reeves?

Person B: Yea, you didn’t realize he was in this?

Person A: No, I didn’t know, it’s so cool to see him in such an early movie.

Person B: Yea it is pretty cool, this movie was an 80s classic.

Person A: Yea, but who is that other guy?

How in a movie like this, at the beginning of their careers does one guy become Keanu Reeves, AKA Neo of the Matrix, Shane Falco in The Replacements or a number of other movies, and the other guy become known as “who is that other guy?”  How did this happen?  Was there any way to tell when this was being filmed that one would be the star, the other would be a nobody?  I wonder if people originally thought the other.  Well I am here to tell you who “the other guy is.”

Alex Winter

A forgotten hero in a classic movie.  He will only be known as Bill Preston, and nothing else.  Looking through his career highlights in IMDB I have found nothing else noteworthy that he could be known for doing.  Maybe it’s because he is 5’7″ and British, or maybe that damn Keanu Reeves bad mouthed him on set, but his career is non-existent.

Although you may be interested in hearing that in 2007 he directed a Cartoon Network’s live action movie event “Ben 10: Race Against Time.”  He is also writing the remake to the 70s movie Rock N’ Roll High School for producer Howard Stern and is working on directing the 3D horror movie “The Gate.”  So I am glad to hear that he is making moves in Hollywood.

So to Alex Winter, AKA Bill Preston, a man who no one will know, but everyone will remember.

Bill: As you can see, Genghis very much enjoys Twinkies because of the excellent sugar rush.