Marlon Brando was one of the greatest actors of his time and his films are termed classics by fans. The Superman star has given numerous iconic roles and movies, which made him the megastar of the 60s and ’70s. Some of his classics are The Godfather, A Streetcar Named Desire, Last Tango in Paris, The Wild One, and others. Though he was an excellent actor and always remained in demand by his fans, he was not easy to work with on shoots.
The respected actor was famous for tantrums and on-set antics, which would often annoy the cast and crew members. However, once he crossed the limit when he ran away from the set of his film and the police had to be involved.
Marlon Brando was once caught by U.S. marshals
Marlon Brando was a remarkable talent, and every director wanted to cast him in his films. However, working with the star was not easy, as the cast and crew had to bear his ridiculous demands and antics. He would often do something or the other erratic on a shoot, which would lead to people’s annoyance. However, he went too far while filming The Egyptian alongside Bella Darvi.
According to Marlon Brando’s memoir, Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando,
“Brando was slated to be in the epic ‘The Egyptian’, alongside Bella Darvi, the alleged mistress of studio executive Darryl Zanuck. Brando dreaded the film and believed that alongside what he saw as a clearly untalented co-star, the whole affair would be a massive waste of his time. And so, like any mature adult, Brando went into hiding. That’s not a joke, he actually went on the run for a while. Zanuck had to hire people to find him. Brando went from hotel to hotel to his friend’s apartment until, finally, he made the mistake of stopping back at his apartment to grab some things. It was there that he was caught by U.S. marshals.”
The reckless hiding of the star led to a lawsuit against the film producer,
“With a lawsuit from Zanuck incoming, and the filming of ‘The Egyptian’ delayed, a deal was worked out that Brando would star in Zanuck’s next film, ‘Desirée.’
The actor starred in the film with Jean Simmons in 1954 and became a critical and commercial success.
Marlon Brando did not mend his ways despite a lawsuit
Being one of the most sought-after actors, Marlon Brando worked as per his will. His became a nuance on the sets of Desirée, which made it difficult for the team to shoot the film. The actor had not signed the film of his free will, hence he wanted to take revenge on the whole production team.
The star showed no respect for the director, Henry Koster, as he felt he was unworthy and incompetent. He would try different antics to create perturbance on the sets. He would purposely forget his lines, use a weird pseudo-British accent for his scenes, and even sprayed extras with a fire hose.
He continued his rebellion until producer Julien Blaustein threatened to fire him from the film. After that, Brando ended the rebellious bout and gave a laid-back performance. The film earned $9 million worldwide.
Source- Archives
