Marlon Brando: biography, personal life, roles and films, photos

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

“The Godfather”, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, “Last Tango in Paris”, “On the Port”, “Julius Caesar” - pictures with Marlon Brando that almost everyone has heard of. During his life, this talented person managed to act in about 50 film and television projects. Brando's name has forever entered the history of cinema. What can be said about his life and work?

Marlon Brando: family

The subject of this article is a descendant of a German immigrant, Johann Wilhelm Brandau, who settled in New York State in the early 18th century.

Marlon Sr., father of Marlon Brando, was born in 1895 in Omaha. At the age of four, he lost his mother, which became a strong psychological trauma for him. It is possible that this explained the rigidity that the man showed in raising his own children. Often, Marlon Sr. applied to the bottle, harassed those around him. His rudeness revolted people, repulsed them. At first, he made a living in the production of feed, later he found a job as a sales manager.

Dorothy, mother of Marlon Brando, came fromkind of gold diggers and dissidents. She was an actress, played in the local theater. Once she happened to participate in the same performance with the young Henry Fonda.

In the article you can see a photo of Marlon Brando in his youth and adulthood.

Childhood

Marlon Brando was born in Nebraska, or rather, in Omaha. It happened in April 1924. The boy's childhood could hardly be called happy. Parents raised Marlon and his older sisters Jocelyn and Francis in severity. The father punished the children for the slightest infractions, forbade them almost everything, never praised them. The mother preferred alcohol to care for her daughters and son. The only entertainment in the house was the piano.

The first years of Marlon's life were spent in Omaha. He was six when the family moved to suburban Chicago. Until the age of 11, Brando could not make friends. Then he met Wally Cox, who was destined to become a famous actor. From this guy, Marlon picked up the dream of cinema.

A year later, Brando's parents decided to live separately from each other. Dodi moved with her children to California, where her mother lived. She continued to drink, was not at all interested in children. Some time later, Marlon's mother and father got back together, the family settled in Illinois.

Youth

Marlon Brando was a rebel in his youth. The young man dressed brightly and catchy, allowed himself extravagant antics, and clashed with others. In high school, he began to participate in school productions. More oftenthe whole young man got the roles of villains and dramatic heroes.

Marlon's other serious passion was sports. The young man even set several records. He also had an active interest in music for some time and was a drummer in a local band.

After graduating from school, Marlon became a cadet at a military school. He did this at the insistence of his father, who hoped that his son would change for the better. At the school, Brando became even more interested in dramatic art. He brilliantly played in the amateur production of "Message from Hafu." After that, Wagner, an English and literature teacher, convinced Marlon's parents to let him start an acting career. The father gave his consent extremely reluctantly, as he was afraid that this profession would corrupt his son.

From obscurity to fame

The list of actors who have had to achieve fame for a long time does not include Marlon Brando. His filmography began with the drama "Men", in which he played a key role. The aspiring actor brilliantly played a paralyzed war veteran. His hero is broken, refuses to meet his girlfriend. He is consumed by doubt, self-pity, anger.

In preparation for the role, Marlon spent a lot of time in the hospital. He interacted with real soldiers a lot.

"Streetcar" Desire"

A year later, the tape "A Streetcar Named Desire" was presented to the audience, the plot of which was borrowed from the work of the same name by Tennessee Williams. In this picture, Brando was brilliantly played by Stanley Kowalski.

This guy is the epitome of simplicity and rudeness. The actor did not hide the fact that the brutal, uncouth and primitive character does not cause him anything but disgust. Is it any wonder, because Stanley's only advantage is an attractive appearance. The role of Kowalski earned Marlon an Oscar nomination. For an aspiring actor, this was a great achievement.

Julius Caesar

The film "A Streetcar Named Desire" attracted the attention of directors to Marlon Brando. Films with his participation began to come out one after another. In 1953, the aspiring actor starred in the film Julius Caesar. The biographical drama, as the name suggests, tells the story of the life and death of the famous Roman dictator.

Marlon in this picture embodied the image of Mark Antony, one of the supporters of Julius Caesar. The actor, dressed in a toga and high sandals, looked incredibly sexy. Needless to say, he has even more fans. Also, Brando was again nominated for an Oscar.

In the port

"On the Port" - a picture that was published in 1954. Thanks to this tape, Marlon Brando, whose photo can be seen in the article, proved that he is able to play not only in romantic comedies and melodramas. He had already become a star by that time, but it was thanks to the film "On the Port" that the audience, critics and directors looked at him in a new way.

The drama is about the corruption that thrives in the unions of young movers. Marlon embodied the image of Terry Malloy. His character is an illiterate worker who is mercilessly exploited by the management. For this role, Brando finally received the coveted Oscar statuette.

Scandal movie

In 1972, Marlon Brando's performance was noted in two cult films at once. "Last Tango in Paris" is the name of one of these films. The actor in this tape is assigned the main role, his partner was the young Maria Schneider.

Brando embodied the image of an adult man who begins an affair with a young girl. With the help of a new relationship, he is trying to get out of the depression he plunged into after the death of his wife. The hero hopes that a strange and eccentric Parisian will help him forget. The connection turns into an incredible passion that spirals out of control.

Interestingly, the leading actors were dissatisfied with their collaboration with director Bernardo Bertolucci. Marlon promised that he would no longer star in such provocative films. However, the film added to the golden fund of cinema. It is still considered a classic of the last century.

Main Role

There are films that everyone has heard of at least once. This list definitely includes the picture "The Godfather". Marlon Brando is the man who created the image of the head of the mafia clan Vito Corleone. Now it is difficult to imagine that someone else could play this role. However, initially the creators of the picture did not want to involve Brando in the filming. The artist was famous for his extravagant antics on the set, and then he also had seriousalcohol problems.

Marlon really wanted to embody the image of Vito Corleone. Is it any wonder that he gave it his all during the auditions. Especially to create the image, Brando wore a mouthguard, this allowed his jaw to resemble a bulldog.

The talented actor managed to create an incredibly bright image. His Vito Corleone is a self-confident, courageous, influential person. Everyone is afraid of him and do absolutely the right thing. Of course, such a role brought Brando an Oscar award. However, he refused to receive the coveted statuette, which allowed him to protest against discrimination against the indigenous population of the United States.

Private life

Marlon Brando is a man who had a very hectic personal life. Officially, he recognized 11 children, of which three were adopted. It is assumed that he actually has even more children of his own.

The first wife of the actor was his colleague Anna Kashfi. He married this woman in 1957. Anna gave Marlon a son, Christian, but this did not save the marriage. In 1959, the couple divorced. Already in 1960, Marlon married a second time. His chosen one was the actress Movita Castaneda, who was several years older than him. The actor also broke up with his second wife two years later. Shortly thereafter, he married Tarita Teriipia, who bore him two children. This union lasted for about ten years.

Also Marlon cohabited with his housekeeperMarina Cristina Ruiz. This girl was 36 years younger than the actor. She gave birth to three children from Brando, whom he recognized. The woman tried to convince the public that she was his bride, but Marlon himself denied this fact. He stated that their relationship never went beyond sexual contact.

Death

Marlon Brando suffered from obesity in his old age. It is known that by the end of the 90s, his weight was over 136 kg. The development of diabetes mellitus led to a deterioration in vision, the emergence of serious problems with the liver.

The famous actor, who has played many bright roles, died in June 2004. Doctors called the cause of death pulmonary fibrosis. In accordance with his will, Marlon was cremated. His ashes were scattered in different places: partly in Death Valley, partly in Tahiti. Brando received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This was his undeniable contribution to the cinema.

Filmography

Which Marlon Brando movies haven't been mentioned yet? Below are the tapes in which you can see a talented actor.

• "Viva, Salata!".
• "Savage".
• "Love of the Emperor of France".
• "Guys and Dolls".
• Tea ceremony.
• Sayonara.
• Young Lions.
• Fugitive breed.
• One-Eyed Jacks.
• "The Bounty Mutiny".
• "Ugly American".
• Chase.
• Appaloosa.
• "A Countess from Hong Kong".
• "Glare in the Golden Eye"
• Sweet Tooth.
• "The night of the next day."
• "Nightaliens.”
• Superman.
• Apocalypse Now.
• "Dry white season".
• "Island of Dr. Moreau".
• "Brave".
• Easy money.
• "The bugbear".

Confessions

In the autobiographical work "Songs That My Mother Sang to Me", a famous actor makes a sensational confession. He claims to have had an affair with sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. According to Marlon, their relationship began at a party. The novel turned out to be short-lived, after the breakup, Brando and Monroe did not communicate.

In 1976, a famous actor openly stated that he had had an experience of homosexual relationships. He did not consider such a connection something out of the ordinary, he was not ashamed of his confession. The actor even joked that he allowed the public to consider himself Jack Nicholson's lover.