>and Harvey Keitel was cast originally.
>
>and if I remember correctly, Pacino and DeNiro also turned
>it down.

'McQueen, Steve' was the first to turn down the role of Captain Willard.


Harvey Keitel was then cast as Willard. Two weeks into shooting, director Francis Ford Coppola replaced him with Martin Sheen.


Marlon Brando was paid $1 million in advance. He threatened to quit and keep the advance. Coppola told his agent that he didn't care, and if they couldn't get Brando, they would try Jack Nicholson, 'Redford, Robert' , and then Al Pacino. Brando eventually turned up late, drunk, 40kg overweight, and admitted he hadn't read the script or even "Heart of Darkness", the book it was based on. He read Coppola's script, and refused to do it. After days of arguments over single lines of dialogue, an ad-lib style script was agreed upon, and this was shot according to Brando's stipulations that he appears in shadows.

James Caan was the director's first choice to play Col. Lucas. Caan, however, wanted too much money for what was considered a minor part in the movie. Harrison Ford was eventually cast in the role.