Emilo Estevez Claims Laurence Fishburne Saved Him From Drowning in Quicksand During Filming Of ‘Apocalypse Now’ 

Emilio Estevez has revealed his near-death encounter with Laurence Fishburne during the early days of their friendship. During a recent episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, Estevez and his father, Martin Sheen, reflected on their experience in the Philippines when Sheen was filming Apocalypse Now, which starred the Matrix actor. 

On the May 2 broadcast of the talk show, Estevez told host Jennifer Hudson about his dangerous encounter with quicksand while on a boat with Fishburne. The two were 14 at the time.

“We had only known each other a couple of days, and this was in the Philippines,” Estevez said of his friendship with Fishburne. “He says, ‘Hey there’s this little boat, let’s go out on it,’ and I said, ‘Sure.'”

The actor continued, “So we were out on this boat together and we started getting too close to the shore and I said, ‘Well, let me jump out, I’ll push us off shore.'”

When Estevez got out of the boat, he landed in a substance that he described as “quicksand mud.” He recalled feeling like he was sinking. 

“I saw Fishburne looking at me, just saying, ‘Grab my hand!’ He pulled me back up onto the boat,” Estevez said. “We were bonded ever since.”

Fishburne played a supporting role in the 1979 epic war drama, which also starred Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall and Frederic Forrest. 

Sheen –— who portrayed veteran assassin Captain Willard in the movie — recalled hearing of the life-threatening incident later on and expressed his gratitude for Fishburne’s quick action.

“We wrote a father-son memoir together not too long ago,” he said of his son, Estevez. “And I found out about the incident when I read the book. I called Mr. Fishburne to thank him for saving my son’s life.”

Watch Estevez and Sheen’s full segment on The Jennifer Hudson Show in the video above.