What are the various changes in cast and staff that produced "Apocalypse Now"?

Casting intention of Martin Sheen who was a substitute

Both Brando and McQueen have in common that they studied acting under Stella Adler. In addition, in the films directed by Francis Ford Coppola, actors who were students of Adler or graduates of the Actors Studio, such as Robert De Niro and Gene Hackman, are used, suggesting that method acting has an affinity with Francis's directorial intent. If Steve McQueen, who is said to have been close to the image in the script, had played Colonel Kurtz, the latter half of "Apocalypse Now" would have been directed in a different tone than it is now.

Also, the actor who was originally going to play the main character, Captain Willard, was Harvey Keitel, who also studied acting under Stella Adler. However, Harvey was fired soon after filming began because he was "not suited for the role." The shocking change of lead actor was described by the media at the time as "difficulties in filming," and became one of the factors that spun the legend of "Apocalypse Now Now." However, it was Martin Sheen who was cast as Harvey's replacement. He shared a commonality with the original, being another student of Adler's.

“Apocalypse Now” (c)2019 ZOETROPE CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Martin Sheen recalled that he had been planning to decline the role due to his chronic illness. Martin decided to take on the role of Captain Willard, thinking that he would be able to maintain his health for the four-month filming period, but filming ended up taking 61 weeks. As a result, on March 5, 1977, almost a year after Klein-Quinn, Martin suffered a heart attack and was on the verge of death, and filming was halted. Eleanor recalled her fears at the time that the film would not be completed, saying, "We shot long shots of the patrol boat going up the river to Kurt's kingdom, and shots where Martin was not in the picture, without the main character in the shot."

Willard, who receives an order to assassinate Kurtz, eventually meets him in the Kingdom. As he learns more about Kurtz's inner world, Willard begins to sense "something similar to Kurtz" within himself.

“Apocalypse Now” (c)2019 ZOETROPE CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

In other words, there is a reason why Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, Harvey Keitel, and Martin Sheen were cast as Kurtz and Willard. It is because they have an invisible inheritance of the (acting) spirit they learned under Stella Adler. Francis cast them in the belief that the inheritance of the acting theory that the actors have will synchronize with the inheritance of the ideas shared by Kurtz and Willard. Of course, such things would not normally be reflected on film. However, the strange resonance between Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen seems to be guided by their backgrounds of inheritance.

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