Platoon - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Platoon"
Platoon (1986)
Timing: 2:0 (120 min)
Platoon - TMDB rating
7.743/10
5052
Platoon - Kinopoisk rating
8.001/10
89960
Platoon - IMDB rating
8.1/10
471000

Actors and characters

Photo Charlie Sheen #31262Photo Charlie Sheen #31263Photo Charlie Sheen #31264Photo Charlie Sheen #31265

Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen
Character Chris Taylor
Photo Willem Dafoe #1916Photo Willem Dafoe #1917Photo Willem Dafoe #1918Photo Willem Dafoe #1919

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe
Character Sergeant Elias Grodin
Photo Tom Berenger #10843Photo Tom Berenger #10844

Tom Berenger

Tom Berenger
Character Sergeant Robert "Bob" Barnes
Photo Kevin Dillon #30375Photo Kevin Dillon #30376Photo Kevin Dillon #30377

Kevin Dillon

Kevin Dillon
Character Bunny
Photo Forest Whitaker #16984Photo Forest Whitaker #16985Photo Forest Whitaker #16986Photo Forest Whitaker #16987

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker
Character Big Harold
Photo Mark Moses #58102

Mark Moses

Mark Moses
Character Lieutenant Wolfe
Photo Keith David #22354Photo Keith David #22355Photo Keith David #22356Photo Keith David #22357

Keith David

Keith David
Character King
Photo John C. McGinley #22113Photo John C. McGinley #22114Photo John C. McGinley #22115Photo John C. McGinley #22116

John C. McGinley

John C. McGinley
Character Sergeant O'Neill
Photo Johnny Depp #17701Photo Johnny Depp #17702Photo Johnny Depp #17703Photo Johnny Depp #17704

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp
Character Gator Lerner
Reggie Johnson
Character Junior
David Neidorf
Character Tex
Photo Chris Pedersen #58138

Chris Pedersen

Chris Pedersen
Character Crawford
Photo Tony Todd #50602Photo Tony Todd #50603Photo Tony Todd #50604Photo Tony Todd #50605

Tony Todd

Tony Todd
Character Warren
Photo Corkey Ford #58134
Corkey Ford
Character Manny
Photo Corey Glover #128582

Corey Glover

Corey Glover
Character Francis
Photo Bob Orwig #82771
Bob Orwig
Character Gardner
Photo Kevin Eshelman #128583
Kevin Eshelman
Character Morehouse
James Terry McIlvain
Character Ace
Photo J. Adam Glover #98023
J. Adam Glover
Character Sanderson
Photo Ivan Kane #58148
Ivan Kane
Character Tony
Photo Paul Sanchez #58140Photo Paul Sanchez #58141
Paul Sanchez
Character Doc
Photo Dale Dye #26455

Dale Dye

Dale Dye
Character Captain Harris
Peter Hicks
Character Parker
Basile Achara
Character Flash
Steve Barredo
Character Fu Sheng
Chris Castillejo
Character Rodriguez
Bernardo Manalili
Character Village Chief
Than Rogers
Character Village Chief's Wife
Li Thi Van
Character Village Chief's Daughter
Clarisa Ortacio
Character Old Woman
Romy Sevilla
Character One-Legged Man
Matthew Westfall
Character Terrified Soldier

Nick Nicholson

Nick Nicholson
Character Mechanized Soldier #1
Warren McLean
Character Mechanized Soldier #2
Li Mai Thao
Character Rape Victim
Ron Barracks
Character Medic
Photo H. Gordon Boos #128584
H. Gordon Boos
Character Soldier with Mohawk Haircut (uncredited)
Robert 'Rock' Galotti
Character Huffmeister (uncredited)
Photo Oliver Stone #27766Photo Oliver Stone #27767Photo Oliver Stone #27768

Oliver Stone

Oliver Stone
Character Alpha Company Major in Bunker (uncredited)
Brad Cassini
Character Soldier (uncredited)
Mark Ebenhoch
Character Ebenhoch (uncredited)

What's left behind the scenes

  • Initially, Charlie Sheen was rejected by the creators due to his age, and the role was offered to his older brother, Emilio Estevez. However, the project ran into financial difficulties, and filming was postponed for two years. When filming resumed, Emilio was already committed to other obligations, and Charlie got the role.
  • Keanu Reeves and Kyle MacLachlan both turned down the role of Private Chris Taylor.
  • Oliver Stone played a small cameo as an officer in the bunker.
  • The voice-over in the film is read by Charlie Sheen, just as his father (Martin Sheen) did in 'Apocalypse Now' (1979).
  • Before filming began, all the actors underwent thirteen days of military training.
  • The name of Johnny Depp's then-companion, Sherilyn Fenn, is inscribed on his helmet. Her initials are engraved on Depp's character's guitar.
  • On the film's promotional poster, the letters “o” in the title are replaced with personal U.S. Army dog tags, known among soldiers as “dog tags”.
  • The U.S. Department of Defense refused to provide any assistance in making the film, deeming it “unpatriotic”.
  • Two years after the film's release, a computer game called Platoon was released for a number of platforms, based on the film.
  • Taylor's helmet reads: “When I die Bury me Upside down So the world Can kiss my ass”.
  • The scene where Chris saves a Vietnamese girl from rape is based on a real event that happened to Oliver Stone in Vietnam.
  • Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay for «Platoon» in 1976. The script he wrote was autobiographical – in the image of Chris Taylor, the director portrayed himself. However, he was unable to bring his project to life at that time due to lack of support – representatives of film studios believed that a film depicting the war in this way would not be financially successful. The first attempt to start filming was made in 1976, the second – in 1984. Initially, producer Dino De Laurentiis was interested in the project, but then refused to participate. Only in 1986 did Stone secure funding for the film from the British company Hemdale Film Corporation, which had previously funded another Oliver Stone film – «Salvador». The success of «Salvador» helped the filmmakers to raise the necessary funds to work on «Platoon».
  • Oliver Stone said that he decided to start filming «Platoon» because he believed that the truth about the Vietnam War had not been shown in any of the previously made films, and he considered it his duty to demonstrate how the war actually took place.
  • When creating the film, the director relied on his own experience of the war in Vietnam. Oliver Stone said that the key moments of the film were based on real events in which he participated, and the characters were based on the personalities of real people with whom Stone fought.
  • When choosing a filming location, the filmmakers visited Mexico and the Philippines. The Philippines were preferred because it was more financially advantageous.
  • Initially, the director intended for Sergeant Elias to be a Native American.
  • Keanu Reeves turned down the role of Chris Taylor, finding it too violent for him.
  • Depp was given an episodic role as Private Lerner because the director decided that Depp was not ready to play the lead role at that time.
  • Charlie Sheen was initially not interested in starting an acting career. This was due to his father, Martin Sheen, having a heart attack during the filming of 'Apocalypse Now'. However, he later changed his mind.
  • The actors were advised by retired Marine Corps officer Dale Dye.
  • Mickey Rourke and Kevin Costner were considered for the role of Sergeant Barnes.
  • Stone became interested in Willem Dafoe after watching the film "To Live and Die in L.A." and invited him to play the role of Elias.
  • Filming took place in the Philippines and lasted 54 days. A military coup occurred in the country shortly before the arrival of the film crew.
  • Even before filming began, Stone invited retired Marine Captain Dale Dye, who served as a consultant, ensuring historical accuracy in the film. For two weeks, he trained the actors in the basics of soldier life – they learned to move through jungles, swamps, and rocks with weapons and equipment, ate army food, and slept in trenches; Dye also taught them military slang. Charlie Sheen later said that after the training, he began to respect Vietnam War veterans even more, and Tom Berenger felt how difficult it could be to be at war in reality. Willem Dafoe also emphasized the importance of the training. Dye played the role of Captain Harris in the film.
  • Real Vietnamese refugees were used as extras in the film.
  • The Philippine government supported the film crew by providing military equipment and vehicles.
  • The piece serving as the film's main musical theme is titled “Adagio for Strings,” and was composed by Samuel Barber back in 1936.
  • Audio samples of some dialogue from the film were used in the song “Flashback” from the Ministry album The Land of Rape and Honey (1988).
  • Before filming the scene where the soldiers smoke marijuana, the actors actually had to try it. But, according to Willem Dafoe, by the time of filming, the effects of the drug had worn off and the actors felt terrible.
  • At the end of the film, a napalm attack is carried out by a Philippine Air Force F-5 fighter jet.
  • The nighttime battle at the end of the film is based on the real battle for the American fire support base Burt (January 2, 1968), in which Oliver Stone participated.
  • After Elias's departure, O'Neil says: "He's been in there for three years and thinks he's Jesus fucking Christ!". Notably, two years later, Willem Dafoe would play Christ in "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988).
  • Keanu Reeves and Kyle MacLachlan turned down the role of ordinary Chris Taylor.
  • Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay for 'Platoon' in 1976. The script he wrote was autobiographical – in the image of Chris Taylor, the director depicted himself. However, he was unable to bring his project to life at that time due to a lack of support – film studio representatives believed that a film depicting the war in this way would not be financially successful. The first attempt to start filming was made in 1976, the second – in 1984. Initially, producer Dino De Laurentiis was interested in the project, but then refused to participate in it. Only in 1986 did Stone secure funding for the film from the British company Hemdale Film Corporation, which had previously funded another Oliver Stone film – 'Salvador.' The success of 'Salvador' helped the filmmakers raise the necessary financial resources to work on 'Platoon'.
  • Oliver Stone said he decided to make 'Platoon' because he believed that the truth about the Vietnam War had not been shown in any of the previously filmed films, and he considered it his duty to demonstrate what the war was really like.
  • Charlie Sheen was initially not interested in starting an acting career. This was due to his father, Martin Sheen, having a heart attack during the filming of "Apocalypse Now." He later changed his mind, however.
  • Willem Dafoe caught Stone's attention after watching "Platoon" and was invited to play the role of Elias.
Did you like the film?

© ACMODASI, 2010-2026

All rights reserved.
The materials (trademarks, videos, images and text) contained on this site are the property of their respective owners. It is forbidden to use any materials from this site without prior agreement with their owner.
When copying text and graphic materials (videos, images, text, screenshots of pages) from this site, an active link to the site www.acmodasi.in must necessarily accompany such material.
We are not responsible for any information posted on this site by third parties.