20 Things You Somehow Missed In Apocalypse Now
11. Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore Was Originally Called Colonel Carnage
George Lucas will always hold the record for the most eye-rollingly obvious character names (A fat pilot named Porkins? The fighty Sith named Maul? Too many examples to choose from). Even so, Apocalypse Now nearly entered the on-the-nose character name hall of fame with Colonel Carnage, the cowboy-hat wearing cavalry commander that blows the hell out of a Vietnamese village with a flight of attack helicopters so he can go surfing. That was the name of the character that Robert Duvall agreed to play, but when he arrived in the Philippines to start production, the name had been changed to Kilgore, an equally violent but somehow less obvious moniker.
Duvall's performance as Lieutenant Colonel William Kilgore is legendary, providing some of the film's most recognizable lines, and earning the actor Oscar, Golden Globe, and British Academy Film Award nominations. Most striking about his performance is Duvall's ability to resist flinching despite large explosions happening all around him. Duvall didn't seem to think that was a big deal, however, telling Esquire magazine, "I played a guy that didn't flinch, so I didn't flinch." Truer words were never spoken.