20 Things You Somehow Missed In Apocalypse Now

The first actor chosen to play the role of Captain Benjamin Willard was Steve McQueen. McQueen, the so-called "King of Cool," was a very hot commodity at the time, and his participation meant Coppola was able to raise a lot of money for shooting the film. That was important, because McQueen wasn't cheap. In fact, in the early 1970s he was the world's highest paid actor. He dropped out of the project because he didn't want to spend three weeks in the Philippines, meaning Coppola had to return five million dollars to his investors.

Several other actors were considered, including Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, and Nick Nolte. Coppola liked Martin Sheen from screen tests for The Godfather, but he wasn't available, and actor Harvey Keitel was cast as Willard. Coppola began shooting scenes with Keitel, but found he wasn't right for the part. Keitel was a very active performer, whereas Coppola envisioned the Willard character as a more passive observer of the film's events. Sheen had become available, so Coppola dismissed Keitel and brought Sheen in.

Some long shots of the boat, with Keitel on board, were used in the film's final cut.