Army Captain Benjamin Willard -  Played by Martin SheenA U.S. special forces assassin and the protagonist of the film. Willard acts as our eyes and ears, passively observing the surrounding action and rarely participating. He is receptive, not reactive, and identifies increasingly with his target, Kurtz. Willard perceives the futility and insanity of war and its effects on the human soul. He clings to a notion of morality that becomes fainter as the film progresses. As a character, he is not particularly sympathetic and can even be ruthless and alienating, but we relate to his narrated perceptions about the story unfolding onscreen.