The Shocking Way Francis Ford Coppola Brainwashed Martin Sheen While Filming Apocalypse Now
Highlights
- Martin Sheen endured a mental and physical breakdown during the chaotic production of Apocalypse Now, due to Francis Ford Coppola's unorthodox directorial techniques.
- Coppola pushed Sheen to the brink by brainwashing him and keeping him drunk during filming, leading to a harrowing scene where Sheen hit a mirror and nearly died from a heart attack.
- Sheen's experience on the film was devastating, leaving him gray-haired and in intensive care, but he ultimately accepted responsibility and found gratitude for the self-reflection it forced upon him.
Francis Ford Coppola’s illustrious filmmaking career has seen him helm many acclaimed productions, including the truly iconic, The Godfather. However, none of the projects in the now 84-year-old’s repertoire faced as many production pitfalls as the 1979 epic war masterpiece, Apocalypse Now.
From disastrous weather conditions to real deceased bodies on set, tropical disease outbreaks, and massive cost overruns, the film’s production was truly a nightmarish descent into chaos. Yet, it was veteran actor Martin Sheen, given name Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez, who endured the full brunt of the chaos. Here’s how, pushed to the brink by Coppola’s unorthodox directorial techniques, Sheen found himself experiencing a harrowing mental and physical breakdown that almost cost him his life.
Martin Sheen Starred In Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now
Released in 1979, Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now is widely considered a cultural touchstone, thanks in no small part to its lead, Martin Sheen. Though Sheen delivers the performance of a lifetime as Captain Benjamin Willard, he wasn’t exactly a top contender for the role. Like with any other big budget production at the time, the lead role was first offered to heavy hitters like Al Pacino and Steve McQueen, who turned it down before it went to taxi Driver star Harvey Keitel.
However, two weeks into shooting, Coppola deemed Keitel's quintessential 'tough guy' routine too intense for the part, and fired him. In came Martin Sheen, who, dazzled by the prospect of starring in a Francis Ford Coppola film, threw himself into the role with unqualified determination.
“Making that film was an ordeal, not just physically but emotionally,” the now 82-year-old would say of the film months after its fraught production. “I was staying in this hotel, and right outside was all this poverty. Pigs running around, children without any teeth. God, the world we live in is so strange.”
Did Francis Ford Coppola Really Brainwash Martin Sheen While Filming Apocalypse Now?
As if the ridiculous mishaps that kept derailing the film's production weren't bad enough, Martin Sheen had to bear the brunt of Francis Ford Coppola's eccentric vision for the film. Then in the grips of a years-long battle with alcoholism, Sheen was in a particularly fragile state, and practically defenseless against Coppola’s unorthodox and intense directorial approach.
“Francis had this way of directing,” one crew member revealed to RollingStone months after the film's debut. “He would tell Martin, ‘You’re evil. I want all the evil, the violence, the hatred in you to come out.' Francis did a dangerous and terrible thing. He assumed the role of a psychiatrist and did a kind of brainwashing on a man who was much too sensitive. He put Martin in a place and didn’t bring him back.”
However, it wasn’t until the iconic scene where Willard experiences a complete mental breakdown in front of a mirror, that Coppola’s bonkers vision for the character truly veered off the rails. “Francis kept Martin drunk for two days before that scene, kept him locked up,” a crew member revealed To RollingStone. “Francis kept telling him terrible things like how evil we all are, that we are all killers. It was devastating.”
The harrowing ordeal that ensued is aptly captured in Eleanor Neil's running account of the film's production. “[Martin Sheen] hit the mirror with his fist. Maybe he didn’t mean to. Perhaps he overshot a judo stance," Eleanor wrote.
"His hand started to bleed. Francis said his impulse was to cut the scene and call the nurse, but Marty was doing the scene. He had gotten to the place where some part of him and Willard merged. Francis had a moment of not wanting to be a vampire, sucking Marty’s blood for the camera, and not wanting to turn off the camera when Marty was Willard. He left it running.”
Did Martin Sheen Almost Die While Filming Apocalypse Now?
Before Sheen could fully unravel, a typhoon devastated the sets, bringing production to an abrupt halt. However, the now 82-year-old’s mental and physical decline was far from over, as upon returning to the Philippines, he suffered a near-fatal heart attack.
“I nearly died,” he admitted to RollingStone. “I was alone. Janet had gone to Manila for the weekend. I was under a lot of tension. I had terrible eating habits, and I was smoking a lot,” he continued. “I had this severe pain in my inner elbow. Then my chest started to hurt, and I thought, ‘I’d better quit smoking.’ All the while the wind was howling. The pain grew more and more intense as the night went on.”
The film’s production exacted such an immense toll on the veteran actor that, aside from the heart attack, he went completely gray from stress, and had to undergo intense therapy. “I completely fell apart. My spirit was exposed. I cried and cried. I turned completely gray — my eyes, my beard — all gray,” he revealed to RollingStone.
“I was in intensive care. Janet slept on the floor beside me. She called a therapist in New York and I talked to her every day and those two ladies pulled me through. I knew I would never come back until I accepted full and total responsibility for what had happened to me. No one put a gun to my head and forced me to be there. I was there because I had a big ego and wanted to be in a Coppola film.”
When filming finally recommenced, Sheen's perspective on his portrayal of Willard had shifted dramatically. "I realized that I'd gone too far,” he admitted to Yahoo Entertainment. “I had bit off more than I could chew, and I was choking on it. I've often said that if I had known going in that I'd have to endure what I did, I would've passed. But I have no regrets because it forced me to come to grips with parts of myself that I otherwise may never have embraced. I'm grateful to Francis for that."
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGibopxdm7%2BiusKiqmaen6exbq%2FOqaeopJFir7OtyKeumquYYrqivtOipWarmJqyr3nWoaClnV2btq25yKeeZpmgpLCiuNipqp5lnqTEbrTEmqmtZZGpwaKvymg%3D