Emilio Estevez bonded with Laurence Fishburne after quicksand rescue

4 May 2023

Emilio Estevez was saved from drowning in quicksand by Laurence Fishburne.

Emilio Estevez was saved by Laurence Fishburne

The 'Mighty Ducks' star had been in the Philippines while his father Martin Sheen filmed 1979 classic 'Apocalypse Now' when he went on a boating adventure with his dad's then-teenage co-star - but things quickly went badly wrong for the pair.

Appearing on 'The Jennifer Hudson Show' with his dad, Emilio said: “Well we had only known each other a couple of days... He says ‘Hey there’s this little boat, let’s go out on it.’ I said ‘Sure.’ We were both 14 at the time.

“So we were out on this boat together, and we started getting too close to the shore and I said, ’Well, let me jump out, I’ll push us offshore.′ I jumped out and it was like quicksand mud.”

The 60-year-old actor recalled how he began to sink into the ground but his quick-thinking new pal helped him get to safety and they have "bonded" every since.

He continued: ″I was sinking, and I just saw Fishburne just looking at me going, ‘Grab my hand.’ And he pulled me back up onto the boat.

“We were bonded ever since.”

But Martin, 82, had no idea what had happened until he read 'Along the Way', a memoir he co-wrote with Emilio in 2012.

He admitted: "Mind you, we wrote a father-son memoir together not too long ago, and I found out about this incident when I read the book. I didn't have a clue.

"And I called Mr. Fishburne to thank him for saving my son’s life."

The former 'West Wing' star - whose real name is Ramon Estevez - previously insisted he didn't influence Emilio or his other children, including Charlie Sheen, to follow him into acting but he was pleased the 'Way' actor kept his birth name.

He told Closer Weekly magazine: "I was so self-involved and trying to be a provider that I wasn’t aware of their inclination to being actors.

"I was doing a show one time, and Emilio showed up. I thought he was there to visit me, but he’d gotten a part in the same show.

"The only influence I had on Emilio was to keep his name. When he started out, his agent was advising him to change his name to Sheen and he wouldn’t do it. And I thank God he didn’t.”