• Name: Marlon Brando
  • Date of Birth: April 03, 1924
  • Place of Birth: Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Mini-bio: One of the greatest actors who ever lived, Brando was a genius on the screen. His ability to sell a role on the spot without practice, or study, made him the perfect leading man. He would never read a...( read more) script, but would rather hear about the idea of the film and then run through the performance cold, giving only a few takes, and selling each one with perfection. Brando starred in so many classic, each one distinct and different from the other.
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“I`ll give him an offer he can`t refuse
~Marlon Brando~


Brando's first screen role was as the bitter paraplegic veteran in The Men in 1950. True to his method, Brando spent a month in bed at a veterans' hospital to prepare for the role.
Marlon Brando was purported to be a hero for James Dean, who was said to have idolized him and copied his acting and persona.

Marlon BrandoBrando claimed in his autobiography Songs My Mother Taught Me that when Elia Kazan introduced him to James Dean on the set of East of Eden, he remarked that 'He was nervous when we met and made it clear that he was not only mimicking my acting but also what he believed was my lifestyle. He said he was learning to play the conga drums and had taken up motorcycling, and he obviously wanted my approval of his work.' He later remarked in his book that 'In retrospect, I realize it's not unusual for people to borrow someone else's form until they find their own, and in time Jimmy did.' William Bast, a famous screen writer at that time, compared Marlon's acting style to be "heavy as lead" while James was more "mercurial and light".

His performance as Vito Corleone in 1972's The Godfather was a mid-career turning point. Director Francis Ford Coppola convinced Brando to submit to a "make-up" test, in which Brando did his own makeup (he used cotton balls to simulate the puffed-cheek look). Coppola was electrified by Brando's characterization as the head of a crime family, but had to fight the studio in order to cast the temperamental Brando whose reputation for difficult behavior and demands was the stuff of backlot legend. However, Paramount studio heads wanted to give the role to Danny Thomas in the hope that Thomas would have his own production company throw in its lot with Paramount. Thomas declined the role and actually urged the studio to cast Brando at the behest of Coppola and others who had witnessed the screen test. Brando's "sit down" scene between rival mobsters is generally described as one of the greatest moments in film history. Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

In his autobiography Songs My Mother Taught Me, Brando describes his participation in Apocalypse Now very differently. According to Brando, the script had deviated from the book and made Kurtz a much more visible character. To restore the character's mystery (and to cut down on the amount of work he'd be required to do), Brando suggested to Coppola that Kurtz be returned in the movie to the mythological figure he was in the book. Coppola agreed to allow Brando to rewrite the script, which he did over the course of ten days. Brando also shaved his head without telling Coppola, and worked with the crew to devise lighting techniques which would emphasize his bald pate and deep set eyes, to evoke a sense of palpable danger in the character. Coppola approved of all of Brando's changes, which gave the film the focus and narrative continuity it had previously lacked.

Brando played Jor-El, Superman's father, in Superman. He agreed to
Marlon Brandothe role only on assurance that he was paid a large sum for what amounted to a small part, that he did not have to read the script beforehand and his lines would be displayed somewhere off-camera.

Brando conceived the idea of a novel called Fan-Tan with director Donald Cammell in 1979, which was not released until 2005. Donald Cammell dated and eventually married the daughter of one of Brando's girlfriends, Anita Loo (aka Anita Kong), China Kong.

In his autobiography Songs My Mother Taught Me, Brando claimed he showed up one night at Marilyn Monroe's apartment and they started an affair that lasted many years. He also claimed numerous other romances, although he did not discuss his marriages, his wives, or his children in his autobiography.

He married actress Anna Kashfi in 1957, mistakenly believing her to be of Indian descent when she was in fact from Wales and of Irish Roman Catholic extraction. Her real name was Joan O'Callaghan. O'Callaghan did not discourage Brando's mistake; in fact, she dressed and made herself up as an Indian beauty after learning that Brando gravitated toward exotic women. They divorced in 1959 after having one son together, Christian Brando.

In 1960, Brando married Movita Castaneda, a Mexican actress seven years his senior; they were divorced in 1962. Castaneda had appeared in the first Mutiny on the Bounty film in 1935, some 27 years before the 1962 remake with Brando as Fletcher Christian. Brando's behavior during the filming of Bounty seemed to bolster his reputation as a difficult star. He was blamed for a change in director and a runaway budget, though he disclaimed responsibility for either.

In May 1990, Dag Drollet, the Tahitian lover of Brando's daughter and Christian's half-sister, Cheyenne, died of a gunshot wound, after a confrontation with Christian at the family's hilltop home above Beverly Hills. Christian, then 31, claimed the shooting was accidental.




Marlon Brando Information:
Eye color:
Brown


Height:


Nickname(s):
  • Brando
  • The Great One
  • Bud
  • Mr. Mumbles (By Frank Sinatra)


Notable feature(s):Unique voice, often spoken in mumbles.


Education:


Family:11 children (As known)


Resides in:


Religious affiliations:None


Political affiliation:


Personal interests/hobbies:


Charities/Causes: Brando was also an activist, lending his presence to many issues, including the American Civil Rights and American Indian Movements. He was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute.



Comments

  • fletcherrhoden
    Fans of the great Marlon Brando should check out the new novella, LAST TANGO WITH MARLON, about Brando and his friendship with actor Wally Cox (HOLLYWOOD SQUARES). From the acclaimed stage play! There are reviews and excerpts at the publisher's site:
    www.trafford.com/07-2958
    posted 307 days ago
  • fairybaby9393
    U guys do know that Marlon Brando is DEAD, right?
    posted 401 days ago
  • davidandjamesgirl
    I absolutely LOVE you!! finished watching 'a streetcar named desire' yesterday, you are so incredibly amazing in it!!! and SO unbelievably HOTTTT!! :P!!! :)!!! XOXOXOXOXO
    posted 481 days ago
  • PiotrBuendia
    THE great experience of acting I have seen in Last Tango In Paris follow me even now, after some time have pass, and after I saw again and again the movie
    posted 482 days ago
  • moviesismylife
    you are the "best"
    posted 500 days ago
  • tmoney007nc
    Without Brando, acting would have never been the same. It was his revolutionary acting style that prompted such greats as Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Johnny Depp, etc.

    The Godfather, On the Waterfront, Apocalypse Now, A Streetcar Named Desire, Guys and Dolls... all of these fantastic films were made great by his electric performances.
    posted 522 days ago
  • shangoolak2004
    he is the best
    posted 524 days ago
  • Riverfan93
    I love Marlon Brando. He was so good looking when he was young that it's hard to describe. I loved his preformance in "A Streetcar Named Desire","Guys and Dolls", and "One Eyed Jacks". He wasn't all just good looks but, he was a very talented actor.
    posted 554 days ago
  • sportboy
    He did well in many films and hes a well popular actor.
    posted 602 days ago
  • aslanonur
    Hİ...
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    give me your hotmail or yahoo adress please :D?
    thanks my friend..
    add me aslanonuraslanonur@yahoo.com
    aslanonur@msn.com ok :)thanks
    posted 686 days ago

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