15 Facts About Marlon Brando: Hollywood’s Greatest Rebel

Brando was considered the greatest actor of his generation, but he despised much of what Hollywood stood for. He found the industry superficial and spoke openly about how money and power corrupted talent. Still, he earned millions and used his status to call out Hollywood's hypocrisy.

In 1973 Marlon Brando won an Oscar for his iconic role as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. Instead of accepting it, he sent activist Sacheen Littlefeather to the stage to decline it on his behalf, in protest against the treatment of Native Americans by Hollywood and the US. It was one of the most controversial moments in Oscar history.

Brando showed up to Apocalypse Now overweight and unprepared, having reportedly not read the book the film was based on. Director Francis Ford Coppola was desperate and ended up shooting him in shadows and restructuring his scenes around long improvisations.

Brando had countless affairs and relationships and spoke openly about relationships with both men and women. He had at least eleven children, biological and adopted, and his family history is a tangle of secrets, scandals and drama.

In 1990 Christian Brando, Marlon's son, shot and killed Dag Drollet, the boyfriend of his half-sister Cheyenne, at Brando's home in Los Angeles. Brando gave emotional testimony at the trial, and Christian was sentenced to ten years in prison for voluntary manslaughter. This family tragedy devastated Brando.

After the killing, Cheyenne Brando struggled with severe mental health problems. In 1995 she took her own life in Tahiti, which shattered Brando's world. It was one of the greatest tragedies of his life.

Paramount initially didn't want Brando as Vito Corleone because he had a reputation for being difficult and his recent films had flopped. He agreed to a makeshift screen test, stuffing tissues in his cheeks, and convinced the studio. The result was one of the most iconic performances in film history.

In his later years Brando struggled with emotional eating and at times weighed well over 130 kilos. Stories about his raids on the fridge became legendary, and he increasingly withdrew from public life.

Brando fell in love with Tahiti while filming Mutiny on the Bounty and bought his own atoll, Tetiaroa. He dreamed of making it an eco-friendly haven; today it's home to a luxury eco-resort, The Brando.

Brando hated memorizing lines and often used cue cards hidden around the set. On Superman (1978), according to legend, some of his lines were even written on baby Kal-El's diaper. He earned millions for a limited number of days on set.

Brando used his fame to support the civil rights movement. He attended the 1963 March on Washington, donated money to activists and stood alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Despite his eccentric lifestyle, he had a deep-rooted aversion to injustice and racism.

Brando avoided the media, and when he was interviewed he could be unpredictable. On The Dick Cavett Show in 1973 he steered the conversation toward the treatment of Native Americans, turning the interview into a political discussion.

Brando grew up with a cold, harsh father and an alcoholic mother whom he adored. His difficult childhood shaped his character and emotional life, and it haunted him all his life.

Brando was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two: for On the Waterfront (1954), which he accepted, and The Godfather (1972), which he refused. His performances made film history, but he remained deeply ambivalent about awards and the Hollywood system.

Brando lived his final years largely in seclusion, overweight and in poor health. He died in 2004 at 80 of respiratory failure caused by pulmonary fibrosis, a shadow of the charismatic, revolutionary star he once was, but a legend forever.