Marlon Brando

The actor who brought naturalism to film and defied convention.

Marlon Brando Jr. was an American actor born April 3, 1924 and died July 1, 2004.^[1] Brando's career accolades include two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three BAFTAs, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.^[1] The actor became famous for playing rebellious figures who turned into cultural icons, for instance Johnny Strabler in the 1953 film The Wild One.^[2]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Birth name: Marlon Brando Jr.
Born: 3 April 1924
Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Died: 1 July 2004
Place of death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation: Actor
Years active: 1944–2004
Partner: Tarita Teriipaia (1962–1972)

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

In 1930 his family moved to Evanston, Illinois, where he met Wally Cox and remained friends until Cox's death in 1973.^[3] He was expelled in 1941 after being held back a year for misbehaving.^[4] He was an avid student of Stella Adler, from whom he learned the Stanislavski system.^[5] Brando made his Broadway debut in “I Remember Mama” in 1944.^[6]

His greatest stage appearance was as Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1947.^[6] Brando went to New York after his sisters, where he trained at the American Theatre Wing Professional School under the guidance of director Erwin Piscator.^[7] The Men (1950) marked Brando's debut on screen, playing a bitter veteran who is paraplegic.^[8] To get ready for that part, Brando remained in bed for a month at a hospital.^[8]

What the cited sources add

The "Exit the Stage" article notes that Brando was well-known around Broadway for giving poor auditions.^[6] Alfred Lunt once asked Brando to read for “O Mistress Mine,” and Brando said “Hickory, dickory, dock” and walked out.^[6] Schulberg also reports that Brando later speculated that if he had not become an actor, "I might have been a robber"^[9] The Outlook India article states that Brando was openly bisexual at a time when Hollywood was far from accepting.^[10]

That same article reports that on the set of Last Tango in Paris, Brando and director Bernardo Bertolucci orchestrated a rape scene without the consent of co-star Maria Schneider.^[10]

References

Wikipedia, "Marlon Brando" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia"; "Marlon Brando Quotes", Flixster (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Marlon Brando" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, "Elvis Has Left the Building: The Day the King Died", The Overlook Press, 2014; "Marlon Brando 101: The Maverick, the Monster and the Myth", Outlook India, April 3, 2025 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Marlon Brando" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kanfer 2008, p. 5–6; Kanfer 2008, p. 5–6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Marlon Brando" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bosworth 2002, p. 7–8 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Marlon Brando" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Adler Paris 1999, p. 271 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"Exit the Stage – B'way Lost Great Lights in '04", December 29, 2004. facts only, no text reused. nypost.com
Wikipedia, "Marlon Brando" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Marlon Brando", A&E Biography episode. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Marlon Brando" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Crowther, "The Screen: Four Newcomers On Local Scene; 'The Men,' Film on Paraplegic Veterans, at the Music Hall-- Marlon Brando in Lead Roxy Shows Story of Indians, 'Broken Arrow'--Premieres at Capital and Palace At the (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Schulberg, "Marlon Brando: The King Who Would Be Man", The Hive. facts only, no text reused. vanityfair.com
"Marlon Brando 101: The Maverick, the Monster and the Myth", Outlook India, April 3, 2025. facts only, no text reused. outlookindia.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Marlon Brando (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.