Marlon Brando was an Academy Award-winning actor and a civil rights activist considered as one of the most influential American actors of all time. He is best known for his roles in the widely acclaimed films A Street Car Named Desire, On the Waterfront, The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.
The son of the actress Dorothy Julia Pennebaker Brando and Marlon Brando, Sr., a pesticide and chemical feed manufacturer, Marlon Brando was born on April 3, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska. His family was of Dutch, Irish, German, Huguenot, and English descent. At the age of 16, Marlon Brando was sent to Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minnesota, where he developed his interest in theater. In his last year, he was expelled from the academy after sneaking out of campus while he was under probation for talking back to an officer. With his fellow students’ protest, he was invited back to school the following year but decided not to finish his studies. He then worked as a ditch digger in their town for the summer and later followed her sister in New York. At the big city, Marlon Brando studied at the American Theatre Wing Professional School, New School Dramatic Workshop, and the Actors' Studio.
In 1947, Brando played Stanley Kawolski in Tennessee William’s play A Street Named Desire. His performance on the play revolutionized acting technique and established the form of method acting. In 1957, he once again reprised the role in the film adaptation of the play in which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1954, Brando starred in the socio-political film On the Waterfront as the washed-up boxer Terry Malloy. The role earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Brando’s first five films put his name in the line of the top caliber actors in the world, as proven by his winning BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role from 1951-1953.
In 1972, Brando starred in the Francis Ford Coppola critically acclaimed film The Godfather, as Vito Corleone, the head of a crime family in New York. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his outstanding performance in the film but refused to accept the award as his protest against the politically incorrect depiction of Native Americans by Hollywood and television. In 1979, he played Col. Kurtz in the Academy Award, Cannes Palme d'Or and Golden Globe winning war film Apocalypse Now.
Marlon Brando died on July 1, 2004 at the age of 80.
Spouse:
Tarita (10 August 1962 - 14 July 1972) (divorced)
Movita (4 June 1960 - 1962) (divorced)
Anna Kashfi (11 October 1957 - 22 April 1959) (divorced)
Brando's children: 1) From first marriage (with Anna Kashfi) = Christian Devi Brando aka Gary Brown (b. 1958); 2) From second marriage (with Movita Castaneda) = Miko C. Brando (b. 1961) and Rebecca Brando Kotlinzky (b. 1966); 3) From third marriage (with Tarita Teriipia) = Simon Teihotu Brando (b. 1963), Stefano Brando (b. 1967) and Tarita Cheyenne Brando (b. 1970 and d. 1995); 4) From liaisons with Maria Christina Ruiz, his maid = Ninna Priscilla Brando (b. 1989), Myles Jonathan Brando (b. 1992) and Timothy Gahan Brando (b. 1994). Also adopted 3 children: Petra Brando-Corval (daughter of Brando's assistant Caroline Barrett), Maimiti Brando and Raiatua Brando.
Film critic Roger Ebert praised Brando as "the Greatest Actor in the World."
He was voted the 7th "Greatest Movie Star" of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Director Francis Ford Coppola wanted Brando to appear as Preston Tucker Jr. in his biopic of the maverick automotive executive he planned to make after he completed The Godfather: Part II (1974). Brando was not interested but did appear in Apocalypse Now (1979), the film Coppola actually did make after finishing The Godfather (1972) sequel. When Coppola finally got around to making the film Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), he cast Jeff Bridges in the role.
Asked The Godfather (1972) co-star James Caan what he would want if his wishes came true. When Caan answered that he'd like to be in love, Brando answered, "Me too. But don't tell my wife."
Won 2 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 21 nominations.
Academy Awards, USA:
1990: (nominated) - Best Actor in a Supporting Role
for: A Dry White Season (1989)
1974: (nominated) - Best Actor in a Leading Role
for: Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972)
1973: Best Actor in a Leading Role
for: The Godfather (1972)
1958: (nominated) - Best Actor in a Leading Role
for: Sayonara (1957)
1955: Best Actor in a Leading Role
for: On the Waterfront (1954)
1954: (nominated) - Best Actor in a Leading Role
for: Julius Caesar (1953)
1953: (nominated) - Best Actor in a Leading Role
for: Viva Zapata! (1952)
1952: (nominated) - Best Actor in a Leading Role
for: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
2001: The Score - Max
1998: Free Money - Warden Sven 'The Swede' Sorenson
1997: The Brave - McCarthy
1996: The Island of Dr. Moreau - Dr. Moreau
1994: Don Juan DeMarco - Dr. Jack Mickler
1992: Christopher Columbus: The Discovery - Tomas de Torquemada
1990: The Freshman - Carmine Sabatini
1989: A Dry White Season - Ian McKenzie
1980: The Formula - Adam Steiffel, Chairman Titan Oil
1979: Apocalypse Now - Colonel Walter E. Kurtz
1979: "Roots: The Next Generations" (TV mini-series) - George Lincoln Rockwell
1978: Superman - Jor-El
1977: "The Godfather: A Novel for Television" - Don Vito Corleone (4 episodes)
1976: The Missouri Breaks - Lee Clayton
1972: Ultimo tango a Parigi - Paul
1972: The Godfather - Don Vito Corleone
1971: The Nightcomers - Peter Quint
1969: Queimada - Sir William Walker
1968: The Night of the Following Day - Chauffeur
1968: Candy - Grindl
1967: Reflections in a Golden Eye - Maj. Weldon Penderton
1967: A Countess from Hong Kong - Ogden Mears
1966: The Appaloosa - Matt Fletcher
1966: The Chase - Sheriff Calder
1965: Morituri - Robert Crain
1964: Bedtime Story - Freddy Benson
1963: The Ugly American - Ambassador Harrison Carter MacWhite
1962: Mutiny on the Bounty - 1st Lt. Fletcher Christian
1961: One-Eyed Jacks - Rio
1960: The Fugitive Kind - Valentine 'Snakeskin' Xavier
1958: The Young Lions - Lt. Christian Diestl
1957: Sayonara - Maj. Lloyd 'Ace' Gruver - USAF
1956: The Teahouse of the August Moon - Sakini
1955: Guys and Dolls - Sky Masterson
1954: Desir?e - Napoleon Bonaparte
1954: On the Waterfront - Terry Malloy
1953: The Wild One - Johnny Strabler / Narrator
1953: Julius Caesar - Mark Antony
1952: Viva Zapata! - Emiliano Zapata
1951: A Streetcar Named Desire - Stanley Kowalski
1950: The Men - Ken
Bud (his childhood family nickname)
Mr. Mumbles (given to him by Frank Sinatra)
The more sensitive you are, the more likely you are to be brutalised, develop scabs and never evolve. Never allow yourself to feel anything because you always feel too much.
The only thing an actor owes his public is not to bore them.
An actor is at most a poet and at least an entertainer.
Would people applaud me if I were a good plumber?
I don't know what people expect when they meet me. They seem to be afraid that I'm going to piss in the potted palm and slap them on the ass.
[on his unforgettable role in The Godfather (1972)] I went home and did some rehearsing to satisfy my curiosity about whether I could play an Italian. I put on some makeup, stuffed Kleenex in my cheeks and worked out the characterization first in front of a mirror, then on a television monitor. After working on it, I decided I could create a characterization that would support the story. The people at Paramount saw the footage and liked it, and that's how I became the Godfather."
[on the impact of The Godfather (1972)] I'd gotten to know quite a few mafiosi, and all of them told me they loved the picture because I had played the Godfather with dignity. Even today I can't pay a check in Little Italy.
Acting is an empty and useless profession.
Regret is useless in life. It's in the past. All we have is now.