Prior to Dmitri Hvorstovsky's stage magnet: there was "bad boy" Marlon Brando's steaming Broadway and the silver screen (without the voice and the music)

The charisma and screen magnet of Brando and his charming self toward women:

Legacy[edit]

That will be Brando's legacy whether he likes it or not—the stunning actor who embodied a poetry of anxiety that touched the deepest dynamics of his time and place.

—Jack Kroll in 1994

Brando was one of the most respected actors of the post-war era. He is listed by the American Film Institute as the fourth greatest male star whose screen debut occurred before or during 1950 (it occurred in 1950). He earned respect among critics for his memorable performances and charismatic screen presence. He helped to popularize Method acting.^[111] He is regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century.^{[112][113][114]}

Encyclopedia Britannica describes him as "the most celebrated of the method actors, and his slurred, mumbling delivery marked his rejection of classical dramatic training. His true and passionate performances proved him one of the greatest actors of his generation". It also notes the apparent paradox of his talent: "He is regarded as the most influential actor of his generation, yet his open disdain for the acting profession... often manifested itself in the form of questionable choices and uninspired performances. Nevertheless, he remains a riveting screen presence with a vast emotional range and an endless array of compulsively watchable idiosyncrasies."^[115]

Cultural influence[edit]

He was our angry young man—the delinquent, the tough, the rebel—who stood at the center of our common experience.

—Pauline Kael^[116]

Madame Tussaudswaxwork exhibit of Brando in The Wild One albeit with a later 1957/8 model Triumph Thunderbird.

Marlon Brando is a cultural icon whose popularity has endured for over six decades. His rise to national attention in the 1950s had a profound effect on American culture.^[117]According to film critic Pauline Kael, "Brando represented a reaction against the post-war mania for security. As a protagonist, the Brando of the early fifties had no code, only his instincts. He was a development from the gangster leader and the outlaw. He was antisocial because he knew society was crap; he was a hero to youth because he was strong enough not to take the crap ... Brando represented a contemporary version of the free American ... Brando is still the most exciting American actor on the screen."^[117]Sociologist Dr. Suzanne Mcdonald-Walker states: "Marlon Brando, sporting leather jacket, jeans, and moody glare, became a cultural icon summing up 'the road' in all its maverick glory."^[118] His portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler in The Wild One has become an iconic image, used both as a symbol of rebelliousness and a fashion accessory that includes a Perfecto style motorcycle jacket, a tilted cap, jeans and sunglasses. Johnny's haircut inspired a craze for sideburns, followed by James Dean and Elvis Presley, among others.^[119] Dean copied Brando's acting style extensively and Presley used Brando's image as a model for his role in Jailhouse Rock.^[120] The "I coulda been a contender" scene from On the Waterfront, according to the author of Brooklyn Boomer, Martin H. Levinson, is "one of the most famous scenes in motion picture history, and the line itself has become part of America's cultural lexicon."^[119] Brando's powerful "Wild One" image was still, as of 2011, being marketed by the makers of his Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle, in a range of clothing inspired by his character from the film and licensed by Brando's estate.^[121]

Brando was also considered a male sex symbol. Linda Williams writes: "Marlon Brando [was] the quintessential American male sex symbol of the late fifties and early sixties".^[122]

Views on acting[edit]

In his autobiography Songs My Mother Taught Me, Brando observed:

I've always thought that one benefit of acting is that it gives actors a chance to express feelings that they are normally unable to vent in real life. Intense emotions buried inside you can come smoking out the back of your head, and I suppose in terms of psychodrama this can be helpful. In hindsight, I guess my emotional insecurity as a child—the frustrations of not being allowed to be who I was, of wanting love and not being able to get it, of realizing that I was of no value—may have helped me as an actor, at least in a small way. It probably gave me a certain intensity that most people don't have.^{[123][full citation needed]}

He also confessed that, while having great admiration for the theater, he did not return to it after his initial success primarily because the work left him drained emotionally:

What I remember most about A Streetcar Named Desire was the emotional grind of acting in it six nights and two afternoons. Try to imagine what it was like walking on stage at 8:30 every night having to yell, scream, cry, break dishes, kick the furniture, punch the walls and experience the same intense, wrenching emotions night after night, trying each time to evoke in audiences the same emotions I felt. It was exhausting.^{[123][full citation needed]}

Brando repeatedly credited Stella Adler and her understanding of the Stanislavsky acting technique for bringing realism to American cinema, but also added:

This school of acting served the American theater and motion pictures well, but it was restricting. The American theater has never been able to present Shakespeare or classical drama of any kind satisfactorily. We simply do not have the style, the regard for the language or the cultural disposition ... You cannot mumble in Shakespeare. You cannot improvise, and you are required to adhere strictly to the text. The English theater has a sense of language that we do not recognize ... In the United States the English language has developed almost into a patois.^{[123][full citation needed]}

In the 2015 documentary Listen to Me Marlon, Brando shared his thoughts on playing a death scene, stating, "That's a tough scene to play. You have to make 'em believe that you are dying ... Try to think of the most intimate moment you've ever had in your life."^{[citation needed]}Brando's favorite actors were Spencer Tracy, John Barrymore, Fredric March, James Cagneyand Paul Muni.

Financial legacy[edit]

Upon his death in 2004, Brando left an estate valued at $21.6 million.^[124] Brando's estate still earned about $9 million in 2005, the year following his death, according to Forbes. That year Brando was named one of the top-earning deceased celebrities in the world by the magazine.^[125]