The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola's bleak Vietnam War picture "Apocalypse Now" is not only one of the best films of 1979, but is handily one of the finest, most important films of its decade. Using Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella "Heart of Darkness" as a template, Copolla transposed the book's action from the late 1800s Congo to the jungles of Cambodia, and, in so doing, exposed the madness and horror of the Vietnam War in harrowing, soul-hollowing terms. As Captain Willars (Martin Sheen) treks deeper and deeper into the chaos of the natural world — drifting ever closer to the insane, cult-founding rogue Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) — reality begins to dissipate. Eventually, madness and violence are all that remain, and war is reduced to its base function: brazen, meaningless destruction and cruelty. "Apocalypse Now" is a great, great film.
Curiously, a lot of war enthusiasts love "Apocalypse Now," seemingly ignoring the film's dark themes and critical view of war. In "Apocalypse Now," war is depicted as the ultimate human failing, something that allows casually violent men to thrive ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning ... It smells of victory") and forces the strongest minds to crack. The Vietnam War was not a time of heroism or victory. It was, as most Americans saw reported, a failure of policy and a triumph of casual cruelty, both enacted by political monsters with no value for human life (don't R.I.P. Henry Kissinger). May 29th, 2023 was the 50 anniversary of the last troops out of Vietnam. The world still aches.
Many notable stars appeared in "Apocalypse Now," some of them as young men just getting their start and others as career Hollywood movie stars further exploring their range. Who among them is still with us?
Martin Sheen (Captain Benjamin Willard)
Playing the lead in "Apocalypse Now," Martin Sheen gives an intense and horrified performance as Captain Willard, the put-upon army stooge sent into Cambodia to retrieve the mad Colonel Kurtz from his position as a newfound cult leader. Sheen, it should be noted, was a recovering alcoholic at the time, and the film's early scenes, of Sheen writing in a hotel room, were 100% authentic. Sheen is said to have improvised his punching of the mirror, meaning he cut his hand on real glass. He insisted the scene continue over Coppola's objections.
Sheen is a well-known, award-winning actor who has been acting professionally since the mid-1960s. In 1965, he was nominated for a Tony for a production of "The Subject Was Roses." He appeared in films like "Catch-22" and "Pickup on 101" before making his big break with Terrence Malick's "Badlands" in 1972. Ever since, Sheen has appeared in scads of films and TV movies, from "Mannix" and "Hawaii Five-0" to "Tales from the Crypt" and "Roswell." His most famous TV role is probably that of President Bartlet in the acclaimed, long-running series "The West Wing" for which Sheen was nominated for six Emmys.
Sheen was not above genre pictures, and showed up in the superhero films "Spawn" and "The Amazing Spider-Man." He also frequently worked with notable directors beyond Malick and Coppola, appearing in David Cronenberg's "The Dead Zone," Oliver Stone's "JFK," Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," Rob Reiner's "The American President," and Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can." In 2021, the 83-year-old actor appeared in "Judas and the Black Messiah" as J. Edgar Hoover.
Even the above credits don't scrape the surface of his long and prolific career.
Harrison Ford (Colonel G. Lucas)
Early in "Apocalypse Now," a young Harrison Ford appears to give Captain Willard his orders. He doesn't appear in the rest of the film, but he would be a notable presence even for those who were unfamiliar with his recent performances in the George Lucas films "American Graffiti" and "Star Wars" (both of them). Ford had already worked with Coppola on his terse spy film "The Conversation."
Apart from the above films, Harrison Ford also appeared in the 2003 film "Hollywood Homicide." He narrated several roles for an audio production called "The Emperor's New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale" in 1998. Ford may have other credits, but there's no way to check. A now-deleted 2014 Tweet from an enthused fan posited that Ford may be driving a cab in Philadelphia. He would be about 81 years old now. He's probably gone back to working as a carpenter, a job he held when he first came to Hollywood back in the 1960s.
Given his heroic features and confidence in several notable films, Ford deserved a long and healthy career in high-profile feature films, and he likely would have merited a Lifetime Achievement Award or two, as well as an Oscar nomination. It's a pity no one knows what happened to him. (For legal purposes, this is a joke.)
Laurence Fishburne (Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Tyrone 'Mr. Clean' Miller)
Laurence Fishburne first appeared on stage professionally in the Steve Carter play "Eden" in 1976. He was only about 14 or 15 years old. "Apocalypse Now" was only Fishburne's third film credit after "Cornbread, Earl and Me" and "Fast Break," but it began filming first, meaning the actor was about the same age when the shooting began. He reportedly lied about his age to act in "Apocalypse Now." By the time the film was completed — the production was notoriously long, and the editing took a while — Fishburne had turned 18.
Fishburne, like Sheen, would go on to a long and prolific career that remains active and vibrant to this day. Fishburne worked with Coppola again on his 1983 film "Rumble Fish" and his 1984 film "The Cotton Club." Fishburne also appeared in Spielberg's "The Color Purple," Walter Hill's "Red Heat," and Spike Lee's "School Daze." He was in Abel Ferrara's "King of New York," John Singleton's "Boyz N the Hood," and Bill Duke's "Deep Cover." Famously, Fishburne played the abusive Ike Turner in the 1993 Tina Turner biopic "What's Love Got To Do With It?" He also worked with Clint Eastwood in "Mystic River" and with the Farrelly Brothers in "Osmosis Jones."
Fishburne would become a permanent fixture in pop culture for his association with multiple high-profile action films. He played the mysterious Morpheus in "The Matrix," a boss in "Mission: Impossible III," and a mysterious homeless assassin in the "John Wick" movies. He appeared in "Man of Steel" as Perry White, in "Ant-Man and the Wasp" as a scientist, and narrated "TMNT." One cannot step outside without tripping over a Laurence Fishburne performance.
Albert Hall (Chief Phillips)
Albert Hall is an actor whose face you likely know, although he rarely played leading roles. Hall had only appeared in "Willie Dynamite" in 1974 and "Leadbelly" in 1976 before his stint on "Apocalypse Now." One might have noticed Hall in "The Fabulous Baker Boys," or as Baines in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X." Hall worked with Lee a second time in the underrated 1996 drama "Get on the Bus."
Hall also appeared in "Devil in a Blue Dress," "Courage Under Fire," Jonathan Demme's "Beloved," and in Michael Mann's "Ali." At some point, Hall fell into the good graces of TV impresario David E. Kelly, and popped up regularly on the law shows "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal," playing the same role – Judge Seymore Walsh — in both. Hall also played a judge on soap operas like "The Young and the Restless" and "Days of Our Lives."
Hall's last film credit came in 2009, for a Bill Duke film called "Not Easily Broken" starring Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson, and Kevin Hart. He seems to have retired since then. Hall is 86 years old.
Colleen Camp, Linda Beatty, Cyndi Wood (The USO show dancers)
There is a notable scene about halfway through "Apocalypse Now" in which the central soldiers pause to watch a USO show featuring three half-naked women. The soldiers are so horny, they are barely able to contain themselves, and it seems for a moment that the women may not escape with their lives. In the extended "Apocalypse Now Redux" edit, released in 2001, the three women have an additional scene wherein they have lines and amorous trysts with the film's main characters.
The women are played by actresses Colleen Camp, the actress and model Cynthia "Cyndi" Wood, and Playboy Playmate Linda Beatty. Beatty never explored a film career, although she was in an episode of "Wonder Woman" and the crime film "Big Time" before "Apocalypse." In Those films, she was credited as Linda Carpenter. Cynthia Wood had small roles in the films "Shampoo" and "Van Nuys Boulevard," but also didn't act much after "Apocalypse." Wood, however, was also a singer, and fans of the 1983 anime series "Golgo 13: The Professional" should listen for her vocals in several scenes.
Colleen Camp, meanwhile, has remained an active and visible actress since she started her career in 1973 with an appearance in "Battle for the Planet of the Apes." Camp has been in, well, campy movies like "The Swinging Cheerleaders" and "The Gumball Rally" as well as notable Hollywood films like "Smile" and "Funny Lady." In 1983 Camp appeared in the SoCal romance "Valley Girl" and in 1985, she played the suspicious French maid Yvette in the cult classic comedy "Clue." Camp turned up frequently in comedies of the 1980s and '90s, including "Police Academy 2," "Illegally Yours," "Wayne's World," and "My Blue Heaven." She's still acting to this day at 70.
Robert Duvall (Lieutenant Colonel William Bill Kilgore)
Robert Duvall has one of the more striking roles in "Apocalypse Now," playing Lieutenant Colonel William "Bill" Kilgore. He's the kill-crazy military man who pilots a fleet of helicopters into a remote village blaring Richard Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" from "Die Walküre" over their loudspeakers. He sets everyone on fire and enacts a vicious gun battle. In what might be a bizarre attempt to assert dominion over his victims, Kilgore insists that several of his officers take up surfing in the middle of the war zone. He strolls through explosions without flinching. He is the one who feels that napalm smells of victory. He is American military might personified.
Duvall's first film role was playing the silent Boo Radley in Robert Mulligan's seminal racism drama "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 1962. He began in TV about a few years earlier, appearing on "The Defenders" and "Route 66." Duvall is one of those American actors who has never had a rest, appearing in multiple films or TV shows every year for decades on end. He has also directed several features, including the 1977 documentary "We're Not the Jet Set," the 1983 drama "Angelo, My Love" and the award-nominated "The Apostle" in 1997. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for "The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now," "A Civil Action," and "The Judge." He was nominated for Best Actor for "The Great Santini," "Tender Mercies" and "The Apostle." He won for "Tender Mercies." He has also won two Emmys for the 2002 miniseries "Broken Trail."
At age 92, Duvall is still working, having appeared in "The Hustle" and "The Pale Blue Eye" in 2022. He is currently filming "The Ploughman."
Scott Glenn (Captain Richard M. Colby)
Scott Glenn plays a dark role in "Apocalypse Now." Originally part of Captain Willard's retinue, Glenn's character, Captain Richard M. Colby, defects to the madman Kurtz's army when they finally discover him. He aims to send word back to his wife that he has left humanity and that she should sell all their belongings — including their children — and likewise leave humanity behind.
Scott Glenn, with his deep voice and stern demeanor, has long played experts and authority figures in his career, notably Alan Shepard in 1983's "The Right Stuff," Captain Mancuso in "The Hunt for Red October," and Jack Crawford in "The Silence of the Lambs." Glenn is also an actor who has worked pretty consistently for years in both film and TV, and who often finds himself in the company of talented directors. He worked with Robert Altman in "Nashville," with Michael Mann in "The Keep," and with Oliver Stone in "W." (he played Donald Rumsfeld). He was in "Training Day" and some of the "Bourne" movies. He even turned up in Zack Snyder's bizarro violence fantasy "Sucker Punch."
On TV, Glenn was in "Castle Rock," the superhero show "Daredevil" wherein he played Stick, and "The Leftovers." He began on TV back in 1965, appearing on "The Patty Duke Show." Glenn is always intense and authoritative, rarely playing weak or shy characters. Indeed, he is in very few supernatural or fantasy films, seemingly tapped to play practical and down-to-earth characters. His presence is a valuable asset to "Apocalypse Now" and to film in general.