Martin Sheen revealed that Laurence Fishburne saved the life of Sheen’s young son, Emilio Estevez, during the shooting of Apocalypse Now. Sheen starred as U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard in the 1979 epic war film, widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever made, that rocketed Sheen to stardom. The film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, follows Willard in the Vietnam War as he is ordered to execute Colonel Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a U.S. Army Special Forces officer that turned rogue and escaped to Cambodia. The film also starred Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, and Fishburne.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Fishburne played Tyrone Miller, nicknamed ‘Mr. Clean’, a seventeen-year-old crew member of a Navy river patrol boat that transfers Willard to Cambodia. Despite lying about being only 14 years old at the time of filming, Apocalypse Now launched Fishburne’s long career in film, television, and theater. While the 1979 film is known as one of the most legendary films of all time, it is also known for having one of the longest and difficult productions, with Coppola and the cast and crew experiencing numerous problems during and after shooting.

Per People, Sheen has stated in an interview with Daily Blast Live that Fishburne saved Estevez from drowning during a visit. Estevez is one of four children that Sheen has with his wife Janet Templeton, including Charlie Sheen. During a visit to the set of Apocalypse Now, Estevez had an incident where he was sinking into mud. Fishburne was with him and pulled him out. Apparently Sheen did not know of the incident until decades later and expressed his gratitude towards Fishburne. Sheen’s full recollection of the story can be read below:

“We didn’t know about it until about 30 years later. Emilio never mentioned it, but yeah it’s true. I think Emilio was about 12 or 13, and Larry was 14. They became fast friends and they were out in the boat one day and the boat got stuck, and Emilio got out of the boat to clear the area and he began to sink into the mud. [Emilio] went under, and Larry very quickly moved and pulled him on board.”

The filming of Apocalypse Now had its fair share of difficulties, some of which were life-threatening. Most notable was that Sheen suffered a heart attack towards the end of filming that was almost fatal. It’s a relief that Fishburne was around to help Estevez when he was in a  dangerous situation. Estevez would work with Coppola in The Outsiders and later go on to have a successful career as an actor and director in film and television such as Young Guns, The Breakfast Club, and Bobby.

With the long duration of the production, it is not out of the ordinary for problems to arise. With such a huge number of them encountered, though, it is almost a miracle that Apocalypse Now was made and subsequently regarded as one of the best films in history. The 1991 release of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse details the difficulties of the making Apocalypse Now, but fans are still finding out new information that went on behind the scenes and all three actors have another memory to add from the tumultuous production of Apocalypse Now.

Source: People

Doctor Strange 2 Gets PG-13 Rating With Horror-Teasing Description

About The Author


Christopher Tsang
(248 Articles Published)

See also  Brian Cox Roles: Where You Recognize The Succession Star

Chris is a feature news writer for ScreenRant who joined the team in 2020. A graduate of NYU Tisch program, Chris has been passionate about films and television and enjoys a range of content, especially ones with great writing. Chris also likes to watch award shows and predict the winners with his recent success predicting Anthony Hopkins to win for The Father at the Oscars.

More From Christopher Tsang