The movie that made a man pull a gun on Oliver Stone
American filmmaker Oliver Stone established himself as one of cinema’s most talked-about figures through controversial movies such as Natural Born Killers and JFK. Despite the contentious nature of some of his films, which often dive deep into American politics, much of Stone’s work is widely revered, with three Oscar wins to his name.
One of his most celebrated films is Platoon, the first of multiple projects Stone completed about the Vietnam War. Released in 1986, the movie starred Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Johnny Depp and Forrest Whittaker. It was praised for its depiction of war, which was based on Stone’s real-life experiences. When the director was 19, he willingly volunteered to become a soldier in Vietnam after struggling at university and failing to have his book published.
He told Deadline: “I really thought I needed to see what the world was really, really, really like. I’d seen enough of it in Vietnam [while teaching in Saigon], because the war was starting up then. But I didn’t see the real jungle. So I said, ‘I’m not going to shoot myself, I’m not going to put a bullet in my head, no. But I am going to take this risk, and I’m going to go out there and see what happens, and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.’ I did have that fatalism about it, you know? Also, I was a good Christian at that point, too, in the sense it was up to God. I don’t know that I could say that now, but [back then it was] roll the dice.”
Stone channelled his experiences into Platoon, exposing how American soldiers often treated the innocent inhabitants of Vietnamese villages. In one scene, Stone required a young girl to act visibly distressed and upset, so he went to desperate measures to achieve what he desired.
The director began shouting at the young girl, who was not a professional actor, hoping to induce real tears. Yet, an on-set advisor, a member of the Philippine Constabulary police, was not impressed with Stone’s behaviour. In response, he began to reach for his gun, causing Depp to panic and attempt to intervene.
In the documentary Platoon: Brothers in Arms, Depp explained the tense moment. “She couldn’t have been more than nine. Oliver’s strategy into bringing real tears to the little girl’s face was a bit much. He raised his voice, and it went on for far longer than it needed to. These people aren’t actors.”
He continued, stating that the police member “reached in for his weapon, it was coming out, and, it was moving forward, and I went ‘Fuck’, and I put my arms round his wrist”.
The man warned the crew that what he just witnessed would never happen again, and Stone was able to finish the scene unscathed. “That was a very heated, scary fucking moment. […] That was bad. I’ll never forget it,” Depp recalled.
