Emilio Estevez talks about making the ‘80s Western ‘Young Guns’

Actor Emilio Estevez talks about making the 1988 Western “Young Guns” with his brother Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips, and says he’s open to making a third installment of the franchise.

Video Transcript

KEVIN POLOWY: Westerns were not necessarily in fashion, I don't think, in the late '80s. Did "Young Gun"--

EMILIO ESTEVEZ: They were not.

KEVIN POLOWY: Did "Young Guns" feel kind of like a big swing for you guys at the time?

EMILIO ESTEVEZ: For sure. For sure. "Young Guns," again, I-- at the time, I owned a house in Montana. So I was around horses and guns and, you know-- so for me, the opportunity to get on a horse and actually get paid for it and play this historical character, I thought, man.

When I read the script, I lobbied hard because I was not the first choice. The director was looking at a lot of other actors to play that role. And I actually called the director, who I knew-- I had worked with before. And I said, I was born to play Billy the Kid. And he said, what do you mean?

I said, I was born to play this role. And you can go on and do audition, whomever you want. I said, I'll come in. I'll audition. Whatever you-- you're gonna end up casting me in this film. And he says, well, what about you playing Doc? You're more of the sensitive guy. And I'm really thinking about Kiefer Sutherland to play Billy.

I said, got it the wrong way, bro. You got it the wrong way. Switch 'em. And-- and he did. Sorry, Kiefer. Yeah.

KEVIN POLOWY: [LAUGHS] Well, Kiefer had a good time. I did one of these with--

EMILIO ESTEVEZ: He did.

KEVIN POLOWY: I did one of these with Kiefer, and he told me that that was the most fun he'd ever had making a film. Was this like an "Outsiders" type experience?

EMILIO ESTEVEZ: It was. It was. I mean, we had three weeks of just horse training where we'd just ride. And we-- and how the wranglers got us more comfortable on a horse-- playing tag. So, you know, again, you have to get real close to people if you want to touch 'em and tag 'em.

But, you know, a horse doesn't necessarily want to get that close. So it was always running in and cutting one way and cutting the other. And so it was three weeks of kind of a boys' camp of learning how to ride and shoot better and really train at that.

But the thing-- where Kiefer made the mistake-- and I'd say this to his face-- is that he insisted if he come back for "Young Guns II," that he only was available and play a smaller part. I think he was only available for three or four weeks. And that he had to be shot in the shootout at Stinking Springs, which is a historically documented shootout between Billy the Kid's gang and Pat Garrett.

Well, Doc Scurlock wasn't there. It was Charley Bowdre. Charley Bowdre was there. Doc Scurlock lived on to be a 90-year-old man. So Kiefer made sure that he's not in part 3 by getting himself killed in part 2, which again is historically inaccurate.

KEVIN POLOWY: Yeah.

EMILIO ESTEVEZ: Charley Bowdre was played by Casey Siemaszko and who was not killed at the battle in Lincoln County during the Lincoln County war. For all you history nerds out there.

KEVIN POLOWY: [LAUGHS] So is part 3 still in the works?

EMILIO ESTEVEZ: It is. Now, part 3 is something that we've been on and off working on the script for better part of a couple years and trying to figure out all the legal on it and who would be the distributor. And Morgan Creek figuring out copyright and rights issues and all of-- so I think we're finally there, to a certain extent. But that's-- again, there's-- that remains to be seen.

But I certainly think there's an audience for it. I think nostalgia is now at an all-- is at a premium. And people, that's a story that we can get a lot of mileage out of still. We're not calling it "Young" anymore. We're just gonna call it "Guns."

KEVIN POLOWY: "Guns"?

EMILIO ESTEVEZ: Because--

KEVIN POLOWY: [LAUGHING]

EMILIO ESTEVEZ: [CLEARS THROAT] --for obvious reasons.