Any idea what happened to the Dafoe character?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Born on the Fourth of July
housecountrywife — 13 years ago(May 23, 2012 06:21 PM)
I watched this movie for the 1st time the other day, and I really enjoyed it. What piqued my interest a good deal was Dafoe's character- anyone who is familiar with the story care to share what you know? I can't imagine him living very long, but you never know.
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filmscholar35 — 13 years ago(July 28, 2012 06:39 PM)
One of the reasons Stone chose a name actor such as Dafoe for the relatively small part of "Charlie" was because, although it's a small part, it is a pivotal one.
That guy was a drunken mess of a man that Kovic met briefly at that retreat in Mexico. After hanging out with the guy for a bit, Kovic realized he was a lost, loathsome, lonely, drunken soul, wallowing in self pity and anger. Kovic realized that this guy had been there for only a short time before himself, and he saw HIMSELF becoming that guy if he just stayed there and drank and hung around other lost souls and prostitutes. So, this made him realize that was no solution, and he retunred to the States based on his encounter with that guy, whom he never forgot. I doubt Kovic stayed in touch or knew anything at all about the guy after returning to the States. After Kovic relayed this experience both in his book and to Stone personally, they worked it into the screenplay, and Stone considered the brief encounter one of the major turning points in Kovic's life.
This is also why he chose a name actor like Tom Berenger for the recruiting sergeant. That, too, was a huge turning point in the younger Kovic's life. That person, he saw and met all too briefly at his high school, influenced his next direction (ie, going into the Marines and off to Vietnam). Likewise, after Vietnam and while in a drunken, self-pitying low-point, looking for an escape, he met that sad/sorry "Charlie" guy and he influenced him to return to the States and do something productive with himself (ie, becoming an activist).
Both Berenger and Dafoe had become very famous after playing their large roles in Stone's earlier "Platoon"(they both recieved Oscar Nominations). So, when he did this other Vietnam movie/follow-up, he wanted to give those two cameos in small but very important roles. The people familiar with "Platoon" would recognize them from it, and make a nice connection. Also, it's interesting because Berenger could well have been the same character (before the war in "Born" and during in "Platoon"; and Dafoe could have been the same character(during the war in "Platoon" and after the war in "Born", if he'd survived "Platoon", LOL). -
geoffrey-jackson — 13 years ago(September 06, 2012 08:40 PM)
Yeah, good post.
Reflecting on the movie and reading your post made me think about simply saying that the Dafoe character being a turning point. No need now that you've done just that.
Thanks too for talking about the other pivotal characters in the movie. -
Bashrat Din — 6 years ago(January 30, 2020 08:08 PM)
Both Berenger and Dafoe had become very famous after playing their large roles in Stone's earlier "Platoon"(they both recieved Oscar Nominations). So, when he did this other Vietnam movie/follow-up, he wanted to give those two cameos in small but very important roles. The people familiar with "Platoon" would recognize them from it, and make a nice connection. Also, it's interesting because Berenger could well have been the same character (before the war in "Born" and during in "Platoon"; and Dafoe could have been the same character(during the war in "Platoon" and after the war in "Born", if he'd survived "Platoon", LOL).
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