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twitter Actor Laurence Fishburne recently opened up about a difficult moment in his early career while filming the classic war movie Apocalypse Now . In the Apple TV+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet , Fishburne reflected on a challenging scene he had to perform as a teenager and shared how actor Martin Sheen ’s encouragement helped him during that tough time. Fishburne, who is now 63, said that when he was around 14 or 15 years old, he had to film a scene that involved talking about sex — a topic he had no real-life experience with at the time.
He explained that this particular scene was originally cut from the 1979 version of Apocalypse Now, but was later restored in the extended version known as the "redux." According to Fishburne, director Francis Ford Coppola kept asking him to redo the scene, hoping he could make it more believable. Fishburne recalled doing about 40 takes but still felt like he wasn’t getting it right.
He could sense that Coppola was disappointed, which made him feel even worse. “It was really bad,” he said. “I was feeling very down and dejected.
” At that low point, actor Martin Sheen, one of the stars of the film, quietly leaned over and said something that Fishburne has never forgotten. Sheen asked him if anyone had ever told him he was a good actor. When Fishburne replied no, Sheen told him,“You’re a really good actor.
” Fishburne said those words meant everything to him and truly “saved his life.” He said that to him, that moment defined what it means to be “number one on the call sheet,” a phrase used to describe the lead actor on a film set. The documentary also highlights other key moments from Fishburne’s early career.
He shared memories of working with director Francis Ford Coppola again in films like Rumble Fish , The Cotton Club , and Gardens of Stone. Fishburne also talked about his time on Pee-wee’s Playhouse , where he played Cowboy Curtis. Some people made fun of him for that role, but Fishburne stood by it proudly, explaining that it was a positive experience on a very diverse and inclusive set.
It was on the set of Pee-wee’s Playhouse that Fishburne met a young production assistant named John Singleton, who had just graduated from film school. Singleton told Fishburne he had written a script and wanted him to play a father in the story. About a year and a half later, Singleton sent him the script for Boyz n the Hood — a film that would go on to become a major part of Fishburne’s legacy.
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