Every iconic role Marlon Brando turned down
Although he developed a reputation for being a right pain in the arse, because he was Marlon Brando, those sins could easily be forgiven when he remained capable of pulling a performance right out of the top drawer.
Those instances became fewer and farther between the longer his career progressed, but when he was firing on all cylinders, it was clear why so many of his peers spanning generations continue to speak of him in such reverential tones.
Brando was very selective with his roles throughout his career, even if the reasoning changed in his twilight years to which ones would pay him the most to do the least, with many iconic characters having been waved away in the interim.
The following ten parts are all iconic in their own way, but for better or worse depending on how anyone feels about the film in question, they’d have been markedly different with Brando filling them.
Every iconic role Marlon Brando turned down:
10. Vulcan (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Terry Gilliam, 1988)
Like many Terry Gilliam productions, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was a nightmare beset by all sorts of problems. Fortunately, like many Terry Gilliam productions, it became an enduring cult favourite despite cratering at the box office.
Oliver Reed was the one who ended up lending their distinguished gravitas to the role of Vulcan in a memorably hammy turn, but producer Thomas Schühly repeatedly tried – and failed – to convince Brando that the lavish fantasy was worth his time.
Ironically, the shoot would have been perfectly-suited to late-stage Brando’s tendencies given that it went wildly over-budget, massively over-schedule, and was plagued with a myriad of issues from start to finish.
9. Mr. X (JFK, Oliver Stone, 1991)
The late, great Donald Sutherland was drafted in for his scene-stealing expository contributions to Oliver Stone’s conspiratorial political thriller, with the director revealing he was glad Brando wasn’t interested.
The exchange between Sutherland’s Mr. X and Kevin Costner’s Jim Garrison is a pivotal one, with the Academy Award-winning director admitting that Brando may have gotten too carried away with the verbiage given his fondness for self-indulgence.
Stone said he was “grateful that he turned it down because he knew better than I that he would make 20 minutes out of that 14-minute monologue and it wouldn’t have worked,” and JFK was undeniably better off with Sutherland than Brando.
8. Chief Old Lodge Skins (Little Big Man, Arthur Penn, 1970)
Perhaps the most important rejection of Brando’s career, the actor turned down Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man out of respect, which culminated in an Academy Award nomination for the person who played it.
The star was adamant the part of Chief Old Lodge Skins should be played by a Native American actor, which culminated in Chief Dan George making the shortlist for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the Oscars.
The film was made during a time when Hollywood had no issues casting white actors in non-white roles, with Brando standing his ground and turning it down on the insistence the part should be cast authentically.
7. Harry R. Caul (The Conversation, Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
There was almost a rapid-fire reunion between Brando and Francis Ford Coppola following their seminal collaboration on The Godfather, but Gene Hackman ended up leading The Conversation instead.
The director shared that the script pre-dated their first meeting, but when he sent the screenplay to Brando, he casually rejected Coppola’s overtures by flatly informing him that “it’s not for me.”
The Conversation was put on the back burner, the pair met and worked together for the first time on The Godfather, and Coppola then followed it up by making the very film Brando had already turned down.
6. Lewis Medlock (Deliverance, John Boorman, 1972)
If writer James Dickey and director John Boorman had gotten their way, then Deliverance would have been packing a great deal more star power.
The screenwriter – who also penned the source novel – originally wanted Sam Peckinpah to direct and Gene Hackman to play Ed Gentry. Boorman, meanwhile, was coveting Lee Marvin for the very same role.
Donald Sutherland and Charlton Heston turned down the part of Lewis Medlock, as did Brando, who was Boorman’s number one choice to inhabit the part eventually filled by Burt Reynolds.
5. John ‘Joker’ Jackson (The Defiant Ones, Stanley Kramer, 1958)
Stanley Kramer’s drama made history when Sidney Poitier became the first Black performer to be shortlisted in the ‘Best Actor’ race at the Academy Awards, and his co-star Tony Curtis was in the running for the same gong.
The project originated with Sammy Davis Jr, though, who wanted to star opposite Elvis Presley in the tale of two chain gang prisoners who mount a daring escape before putting their differences to one side to ensure their safety.
Brando was wanted for Curtis’ John ‘Joker’ Jackson, Brando reportedly didn’t care for director Kramer after having a negative experience with him on 1953 crime thriller The Wild One where he served as a producer, so he didn’t want to risk lightning striking twice.
4. John Norman Howard (A Star Is Born, Frank Pierson, 1976)
Brando obviously wasn’t keen on lending his name to musical drama A Star Is Born, because the 1976 version wasn’t even the first time he’d turned down the male lead.
The 1954 iteration’s director George Cukor had previously offered him the part of Norman Maine only to be knocked back, with Barbara Streisand putting out the feelers two decades later to see if he’d be interested in tackling John Norman Howard.
Her number one dream scene partner was Elvis Presley, but when both he and Brando said no, Kris Kristofferson ended up getting the nod to strike sparks opposite Streisand’s Esther Hoffman Howard.
3. Will Kane (High Noon, Fred Zinnemann, 1952)
It’s regarded as one of the greatest Westerns ever made, but High Noon looked increasingly like a risky bet when several of Hollywood’s most notable leading men turned it down, most famously John Wayne.
‘The Duke’ wouldn’t even consider signing on for a film that he believed was the polar opposite of his well-known political beliefs, while further rejections came from Gregory Peck, Montgomery Clift, Charlton Heston, and Brando.
Of course, Gary Cooper ended up winning an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’ in a timeless classic that’s inspired generations, a part he only ended up with because nobody else seemed to want to play it.
2. Randall P. McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Miloš Forman, 1975)
It was Kirk Douglas who initially optioned the rights to adapt One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with designs on playing the lead, but by the time the film went into production he’d aged out of the part.
His son Michael ended up producing, though, while Jack Nicholson was on iconic and Oscar-winning form Randall P. McMurphy, but only because a quartet of his contemporaries had said no.
Brando, Gene Hackman, James Caan, and Burt Reynolds weren’t interested, which cleared the way for Nicholson to deliver one of the best performances of a legendary career.
1. T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia, David Lean, 1962)
Pretty much the definitive Hollywood epic in every way, shape, and form, it’s impossible to imagine Lawrence of Arabia without Peter O’Toole and his steely blue eyes.
Producer Sam Spiegel held a press conference in October 1960 to announce the cast for David Lean’s upcoming production. At the conference, he told the world Brando would play Lawrence.
Obviously it didn’t come to pass, with Brando instead opting to shoot Mutiny on the Bounty instead, where he ended up wreaking all sorts of havoc with his difficult ways.
