\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Laurence Fishburne<\/strong><\/a> is one of the greatest actors alive, but that doesn\u2019t mean making movies \u2014 even the most iconic in cinematic history \u2014 has always been easy.<\/p>\n In the Apple TV+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet<\/em>, released March 28, Fishburne revealed that filming Apocalypse Now<\/em> at the age of 14 or 15 was \u201creally bad\u201d for a big reason.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a scene in Apocalypse Now<\/em> that got cut from the original film, and then it\u2019s been put back in the redux,\u201d he explained in the documentary. \u201cI guess I was 14, 15, whatever, trying to do this scene, talking about, you know, really\u2026 sex. And I had no sexual experience. Like, none.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd [the film\u2019s director] Francis Coppola couldn\u2019t figure out how to get me to be any more experienced than I am,\u201d Fishburne continued. \u201cBut he kept asking me to do it over and over again. I did something like 40 takes. It was really bad. And I could tell that he was disappointed. So I was feeling really, really down. Really dejected.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily, co-star Martin Sheen went out on a limb and offered to help the young actor.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I heard Martin [Sheen] whisper in my ear,\u201d he explained. \u201cHe said, \u2018Did anyone ever tell you you were a really good actor?\u2019 And I said, \u2018No.\u2019 He said, \u2018You\u2019re a really good actor.\u2019 That\u2019s what being No.1 on the call sheet is about to me. Saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n In a 2013 interview on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight<\/em>, Fishburne admitted<\/a> that he lied about his age to land the part in Coppola\u2019s 1979 film. His character was meant to be 17 in the movie, but Fishburne was 14 when he took the role \u2014 and he turned 18 by the time the movie was released.<\/p>\n