Like many other Hollywood stars, Marlon Brando also saw a downfall in his career during the 1970s, when he was considered an “unbankable” actor. However, the 1972 adaptation of Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel, The Godfather, was a turning point for the actor. Starring Brando as the mafia boss and patriarch of the Corleone family, Don Vito Corleone, the movie became the highest-grossing film of the year.
However, the actor was initially not interested in playing the character. Not just Brando, the studio also did not want to cast the Guys and Dolls star as the lead of the movie due to his troublesome reputation in the industry.
Marlon Brando Declined The Godfather Offer
The 1972 film based on Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name, The Godfather, featured Marlon Brando as its leading man, Don Vito Corleone. The movie would go on to become one of the greatest films ever made and one of the best films of the actor’s career.
However, Brando declined to portray a mafia when he was initially suggested the role. The author of the book reached out to the actor, he had in mind for his title character, after learning that Danny Thomas was looking forward to starring in the movie.
Thomas was reportedly planning to buy an interest in Paramount Pictures to cast himself in the lead role in The Godfather adaptation. After this, Puzo sent a copy of his book to Brando, saying he believed Brando was the “only actor who can play the Godfather.”
However, when his assistant, Alice Marchak, told him about the same, he declined to play the character, saying, “I’m not a Mafia Godfather … I’m not going to glorify the Mafia.” While he rejected it at first, Marchak shared that he started showing interest in the project after reading Puzo’s letter.
The Studio Did Not Want Marlon Brando in The Godfather
Marlon Brando had a reputation for being a difficult actor to work with. It was one of the reasons the studio executives did not want him to star in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film. The poor performance of some of his previous movies was also one of the reasons for the same.
A studio chief, Robert Evans, even went on to state that the Academy Award-winning actor was “as dead as could be.” However, not only The Godfather author, but the film’s director Francis Ford Coppola was also adamant about casting Brando as Don Corleone.
He was able to convince the studio to cast the Free Money actor in the movie with three conditions. Infamous for his troublesome behavior on the set, he was asked to pay $ 1 million in bond to make sure that he would not cause any delays in the production.
The studio also wanted the actor to accept a lower salary and was asked to do a screentest for the role. He accepted these conditions. Brando excelled in the screen test that took place at his home and was later approved by the producers as well. The rest is history, as The Godfather remains one of the greatest films, not only of Brando’s career but of Hollywood as well.
The Godfather is available on Paramount+.
Source: Vanity Fair
