- Marlon Brando as Colonel Walter Kurtz, a highly decorated United States Army Special Forces officer with the 5th Special Forces Group who goes rogue. He runs his own military unit based in Cambodia and is feared as much by the U.S. military as by the North Vietnamese, Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge.
- Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel William "Bill" Kilgore, commander of 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment and surfing fanatic. His character is a composite of several characters including Colonel John Stockton, General James F. Hollingsworth and George Patton IV, also a West Point officer whom Robert Duvall knew.[9] Duvall reports that he was upset that a scene where Kilgore saves the life of a Vietnamese baby during the beach assault was cut by Coppola, as he felt that it added to the complexity of his character.[10] Duvall said that he found that the version of the character was too over-the-top, and asked Coppola permission to change the character.[11] Duvall also asked people at the military on how to portray the character as a tough unflinching officer.[12]
- Martin Sheen as U.S. Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard, a veteran assassin who is serving his third tour in Vietnam. The soldier who escorts him at the start of the film recites that Willard is from the 505th Battalion, of the elite 173rd Airborne Brigade, assigned to MACV-SOG. The opening scene—which features Willard staggering around his hotel room, culminating in him punching a mirror—was filmed on Sheen's 36th birthday when he was heavily intoxicated. The mirror that he broke was not a prop and caused his hand to bleed profusely, but he insisted on continuing the scene, despite Coppola's concerns.[13][14] Sheen has said this performance where he writhes and smears himself in blood was spontaneous and was an exorcism of his longstanding alcoholism.[15][16][17] Sheen's brother Joe Estevez stood in for Willard in some scenes and performed the character's voiceover narrations while his son Charlie appears in the film as an extra. Both went uncredited.[18]
- Frederic Forrest as Engineman 3rd Class Jay "Chef" Hicks, a tightly wound former chef from New Orleans who is horrified by his surroundings.
- Albert Hall as Chief Petty Officer George Phillips. The Chief runs a tight ship and frequently clashes with Willard over authority.
- Sam Bottoms as Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson, a former professional surfer from Orange County, California. In the bridge scene, he mentions having taken LSD. As the film progresses Lance scene by scene becomes more and more strung out on drugs to the point that his grip on reality fades to almost nothing, and he becomes completely silent in the last act of the film. At the same time he becomes entranced by the Montagnard tribe and participates in the sacrifice ritual.
- Laurence Fishburne as Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller, the cocky seventeen-year-old South Bronx-born crewmember. Fishburne was only 14 when shooting began in March 1976, as he had lied about his age to get the role.[19] The production took so long, he was 18 by the time of its release.
- Dennis Hopper as an American photojournalist, a manic disciple of Kurtz who greets Willard. According to the DVD commentary of Redux, the character is based on Sean Flynn, a famed news correspondent who disappeared in Cambodia in 1970. The character may also have been partially inspired by the British-Australian photojournalist Tim Page.[20]
- G. D. Spradlin as Lieutenant General R. Corman, military intelligence (G-2), an authoritarian officer who fears Kurtz and wants him removed. The character is named after filmmaker Roger Corman, for whom Coppola had previously directed his early works.
- Jerry Ziesmer as Jerry Moore, a C.I.A. agent who sits in on Willard's initial briefing. His only line in the film is "terminate with extreme prejudice". Ziesmer was also the film's assistant director.
- Harrison Ford as Colonel G. Lucas, aide to Corman and a general information specialist who gives Willard his orders. The character is named for George Lucas, who had directed Ford in American Graffiti and Star Wars, and with whom Coppola had founded American Zoetrope in 1969.
- Scott Glenn as Captain Richard M. Colby, previously assigned Willard's current mission before he defected to Kurtz's private army and sent a message to his wife, intercepted by the U.S. Army, telling her that he was never coming back and to sell everything they owned, including their children.
- James Keane as Kilgore's Gunner, a man ready to battle to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries.[21]
- Kerry Rossall as Mike from San Diego, a soldier who surfs against incoming attacks.[21]
- Colleen Camp, Cynthia Wood and Linda Beatty as Playboy Playmates. Wood was the 1974 Playmate of the Year, and Beatty was the August 1976 Playmate of the Month.
- Bill Graham as Agent, the announcer in charge of the Playmates' show.
- Francis Ford Coppola (cameo) as a TV news director filming beach combat; he shouts "Don't look at the camera, go by like you're fighting!" Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro plays the cameraman by Coppola's side.
- R. Lee Ermey (uncredited) as a helicopter pilot. Ermey was himself a former USMC drill instructor and Vietnam War veteran, and later achieved fame for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket.
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