Laurence Fishburne Saved Emilio Estevez’s Life As A Kid In Totally Wild Story
Laurence Fishburne saved Emilio Estevez from drowning while filming Apocalypse Now.
Actors Emilio Estevez and Laurence Fishburne have been friends since the 1970s, and their relationship first started when The Matrix star saved Martin Sheen’s son from drowning. Emilio Estevez recently told the totally wild story while on The Jennifer Hudson Show, according to Deadline.
Back when Martin Sheen was filming Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 war drama Apocalypse Now, his son Emilio Estevez went to the Philippines to visit him. While there, Emilio Estevez went out on an excursion with Laurence Fishburne, who played the supporting role of Tyrone ‘Clean’ Miller in the movie. The two teenagers decided to venture out on a small boat, taking it for a ride down a Philippines river.
When the small boat got too close to the shore, Emilio Estevez hopped overboard to try and push them farther away. Unfortunately, the young actor got more than he bargained for when he landed in quicksand mud and began sinking. Laurence Fishburne jumped into action by grabbing Emilio’s hand, pulling back onboard the boat, and saving him from drowning in the river.
While the near-death experience was very scary, it wasn’t the only crazy thing to happen around the set of Apocalypse Now. While filming, Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack (despite only being in his thirties) and needed to be brought to a hospital via an emergency helicopter. Also on set, Martin Sheen got a little too into his character’s head and punched a mirror, causing him to actually cut his hand and shed blood.
Despite being long-time friends, Emilio Estevez and Laurence Fishburne have not been in any movies together. However, Laurence Fishburne was in the 1990 drama Cadence which starred Emilio Estevez’s father, Martin Sheen, and his brother Charlie Sheen. The movie (which was also directed by Martin Sheen) starred Charlie Sheen as Army Private Bean, the only rebellious white inmate in an all-black Army detention center in Germany.
Emilio Estevez broke onto the Hollywood scene when he was cast in a pair of 1985 big hits, The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire. After starring in R-rated films like Maximum Overdrive and Young Guns, he became a lovable Disney star in The Mighty Ducks and D2: The Mighty Ducks. In 2021, Emilio Estevez reprised his role as hockey coach Gordon Bombay in the TV series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, cast alongside Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham and the handsome Josh Duhamel.
Laurence Fishburne’s career started in 1972 when he was just 11 years old, and it has not stopped or slowed down since. While the talented actor has played various roles across many different genres, he is most known for starring alongside Keanu Reeves in The Matrix film franchise and the John Wick series. While Laurence Fishburne has appeared in all four of the John Wick Films, he only appeared in the first three of The Matrix films and was not invited back for The Matrix: Resurrections which was released in 2021, as canonically, Morpheus was killed off in a video game tie-in.
