They have had a special bond ever since: Emilio Estevez nearly sank in quicksand when Laurence Fishburne came to his rescue.
Actor Emilio Estevez appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show with his father Martin Sheen. There he recalled the life-threatening situation in which Laurence Fishburne saved him from sinking in quicksand while filming “Apocalypse Now”. Fishburne had a supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War epic, while Estevez accompanied his father for filming in the Philippines. Martin Sheen played US Army Captain Benjamin Willard in the film.
“He [Fishburne] said: “Hey, there’s this little boat, let’s go out with it.” I said: “Sure.” We were both 14 at the time,” Estevez began in an interview with Jennifer Hudson to explain the initially harmless situation. But then the outing changed during a break in filming: “So we were on this boat together and when we got too close to the shore, I said, ‘Let me jump out, I’ll push us off the shore.’ I jumped out , and the ground was like quicksand mud.”
Now it was time to act, as the mime points out: “I was sinking and I saw Fishburne looking at me and saying, ‘Take my hand,’ and he pulled me back onto the boat.” If Fishburne hadn’t reacted so quickly, Emilio Estevez could have died. The two actors have had a special bond since the incident, Estevez, 60, points out on the show.
Emilio Estevez with Martin Sheen on The Jennifer Hudson Show:
His father Martin Sheen only found out about the story decades later, the mime continues to surprise in conversation. When Sheen was finally informed, he immediately called Laurence Fishburne to thank him for his intervention. Sheen, who became a father at the age of 21, was always keen to bring his family to the set, as he did on Apocalypse Now. So it’s no wonder that his son later wanted to do the same job. Most recently, Emilio Estevez appeared on The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.