Charlie Sheen Recalls Forest Whitaker's Grisly Injury Filming Platoon

Charlie Sheen recalls Forest Whitaker's grisly injury while filming Oliver Stone's Platoon in 1986, which involved a coconut and a machete.

Actor Charlie Sheen recalls Forest Whitaker's grisly injury while filming Oliver Stone's Platoon. Sheen played Chris in the film, a new soldier to Vietnam who experiences the harshness of the war alongside fellow troops and seasoned veterans. Written and directed by Stone, the film co-starred Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, John C. McGinley, Keith David, Kevin Dillon, Johnny Depp, and Forest Whitaker.

Sheen was cast in Platoon after his appearances in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Lucas. He received massive acclaim for Platoon, which won four Oscars, including Best Picture. Sheen worked again with Stone on Wall Street, another big hit for the duo, which was also their last collaboration together. The actor later went on to a successful film career that turned into a successful TV career, particularly for the show Two And A Half Men, which he starred in for 8 years before being fired.

Related: Platoon True Story: How Accurate Is The Vietnam War Movie

Filming of Platoon took place in the jungles of the Philippines, which lasted for 54 days and was shot chronologically. However, before filming began, the main players first had to complete a "boot camp" that was put on by famed military consultant Dale Dye. It was during this training that Sheen witnessed fellow actor Forest Whitaker injure himself in a grisly fashion. Sheen recalls the moment to The Guardian, saying:

Everybody was tired and angry. At one point, we found a coconut grove and Forest somehow got a coconut. I can still see him now, trying to line it up with his machete. Before I could say, “Your thumb is too close!” he swings and hits his thumb dead centre. He popped it into his mouth and two thick streams of blood poured out both sides. It was a “scream for the medic” moment – and that was still in training camp.

Platoon is widely regarded as one of the best films ever made about the Vietnam war. Stone would make two more films on the subject, completing a trilogy of sorts, which included Born on the Fourth of July starring Tom Cruise and Heaven & Earth starring Tommy Lee Jones. In addition to those films, Stone has had a prolific and diverse career on a variety of controversial subjects, from JFK to Natural Born Killers to The Doors to Snowden and beyond. He is currently in pre-production on the drama White Lies starring Benicio Del Toro.

On-set injuries are common when a production takes actors out of their comfort zones, as it's impossible to protect everyone from every aspect of the elements, let alone their own actions. However, for Platoon, the boot camp aspect is an important part of the puzzle when forming the bonds needed to show camaraderie amongst troops, a tactic used in most war films, including Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, which also had a "boot camp" put on by Dale Dye.  While it's unfortunate that injuries occur, the risk is worth the reward for these military film boot camps, particularly when the performances reflect the bonds created during them.

Next: Platoon Movie Ending & Chris Taylor's War Speech Explained

Source: The Guardian