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Marlon Brando was, unarguably, one of the most celebrated actors of all time, but he was also notorious for being a not-so-easy personality to work with, especially during the latter stages of his career. While his seemingly irrational demands and ways of operating (which involved strapping cue cards to sets) were one thing, he was also infamous for clashing with some other actors.
For one, Brando had a famous feud with one other thoroughly commended actor who left the world a little time after him: Burt Reynolds. As it turns out, Brando was involved in what was a rather one-sided rivalry with Reynolds during the height of the latter’s career, which even had him nearly quitting his all-time bestThe Godfatherin rage had it brought Reynolds into the cast!
Marlon Brando Nearly QuitThe GodfatherBecause of Burt Reynolds
One of the most infamous bad-blooded feuds in Hollywood has inevitably been the one between Brando and Reynolds, both of whom never got around to working together despite holding significantly respectable positions in the entertainment industry. This could have been changed withThe Godfather, but it was none other thanMarlon Brandohimself who stopped it from happening.
Paramount Pictures Was Hellbent on Not Hiring Marlon Brando For The Godfather, Wanted Another Legend as Vito Corleone
According toCBR.com, Brando apparently wasn’t too fond of Reynolds back in the latter’s youth as he was often compared to a younger version of him by fans. As it seems, this severely disturbed theSupermanstar especially when Reynolds got cast inThe Bardepisode ofThe Twilight Zoneas a character that deliberately mocked Brando’s infamous accent and mannerisms.
Reportedly, Brando never really forgave Reynolds for taking onThe Twilight Zonerole, leading to their apparent rivalry. But this progressed further whenFrancis Ford Coppolawanted to cast theBoogie Nightsstar as Michael Corleone inThe Godfather. However, Brando was so hell-bent against it that he threatened to quit the film himself in the case of these events taking place.
That’s not all. While not letting Coppola go forward the way he wanted with his 1972 film by having him dropBurt Reynoldsas one of the key choices to play Michael Corleone was one thing, Brando further posed a problem to the actor donning yet another role that could have further boosted his career: One in Coppola’s other masterpiece, 1979’s war-actionApocalypse Now.
Marlon Brando Didn’t Let Burt Reynolds ScoreApocalypse NowEither
Unfortunately for Reynolds, Marlon Brando was already cast as Colonel Kurtz when Coppola was considering bringing him onboard his 1979 war movie. That said, he, obviously,did everything in his power to ensurehis arch-nemesis theSmokey and the Banditstar couldn’t score a place among the cast of this piece either.
As per CBR.com, an audio recording from the set even had Brando calling Reynolds“the epitome of something that makes me want to throw up”after coming across the news that he was being considered for a role in the movie. Adding to this, he further went on to criticize the younger actor, saying,“he worships at the temple of his own narcissism.”
“I thought you would think that was funny”: Burt Reynolds’ Own Goodfellas Moment Backfired for Trying to Make Robert De Niro Laugh That Resulted in a ‘Beating’
If that wasn’t enough, the Oscar winner further tried to pull Reynolds down by reportedly pointing out what he perceived to beThe Longest Yardstar’s fake nature, saying:
What really disgusted me… I saw him on TV one time… The kid was brought in and was about three or four-year-old kid. He wanted to show how loving he was, so he stooped down and was playing for the cameras, ‘Oh how I love children,’ that sort of thing… And the kid started to go away to go off camera, so he pulled the kid back, trying to make the kid make a little scene of how sweet Burt was in respect to children… The whole idea of hustling children. The kid wouldn’t do the bulls**t.
Needless to say, considering these reports are actually true, it seems like Burt Reynolds career may have been significant, but it still lost out on what could have beensome really great rolesin two of the best Coppola films of all time.
At the same time, the other roles Reynolds ended up scoring because of Brando’s tricks had him realizing he was better suited to comedy, so these two actors – who were notably widely deemed a bit too similar in their youths – never really had to cross paths ever again.
The Godfather and Apocalypse Now can currently be streamed on Prime Video.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
