The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and… AOL: Marlon Brando’s Strange Obsession with Internet Forums in the 90s

Few actors are as triumphant and unique as Marlon Brando, the Oscar-winning artist who Time magazine named “Actor of the Century” at the turn of the new millennium. It was his eccentricity and internal conflict between disgust and pleasure with his profession as an actor that made him such an effortless actor.

Although he played some iconic roles, from Sky Masterson in White Pigeons and The Ugly Gentlemen (1950) to Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972), including Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (1979). Marlon Brando He was also known to be somewhat eccentric.

Among the rumors heard over time is that he left his The Corruptor co-star Stefanie Beacham tied to the bed while he went out to lunch. Meanwhile, the entire camera crew was trying to untie the knots that Brando had tied during the scene, but no one could. Therefore, the actor had to be brought back to the set to “release” his partner! We can also point to the time when, while discussing the role of Jor-El in Superman with director Richard Donner, he said he wanted his character to look like a green suitcase or a bagel…

Obsession with… AOL!

Died in 2004 at the age of 80, he didn’t have the opportunity to experience the heyday of social networking as we know it today, but he still managed to benefit from its early days. Indeed, the actor had a surprising obsession with AOL’s early chat rooms, fascinated by the fact that he could talk to anyone in the world and pretend to be a stranger.

As the book reveals Marlon and Greg: My Life and Filmmaking Adventure with Hollywood’s Polar Opposites By Joseph Brutsman: “He would go into AOL’s early chat rooms, posing as all kinds of people, thrilled to be able to exchange ideas with people who had no idea who he was.“

This was confirmed in the book The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando William J. By Mann, which described how the comedian spent hours online arguing with strangers about politics, his account was often banned for talking to reporters.to go yourself“, during anger.

part of the actor’s myth, Marlon Brando Also had a reputation as one of the most unpredictable and difficult jobbers. For example, he was obsessed with the 71 cm tall Nelson de la Rosa during the filming of The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), demanding that the latter be by his side in each of his scenes and asking him to dress both of them. Matching clothes for the duration of the movie. Fascinated by his colleagues, he made the following remark several times:You’re telling me there’s a man there!?“.

Despite these unique stories, Marlon Brando remains one of the greatest actors of all time. His hypnotic approach to his craft was so profound that he became a posthumous sage and role model for any budding comedian who wanted to follow a similar path. His performances were so captivating and his methods so revolutionary that we will never see anyone as captivating as the late Marlon Brando.

Join the legendary cast in The Godfather, available on Netflix and Paramount+.