‘The Freshman’: the “unpleasant” movie Marlon Brando initially hated
Retirement doesn’t mean the same in acting as it does in most other professions. There’s no age limit on when a career can begin and end, and if anyone decides that putting their feet up after decades onscreen isn’t as fun as they thought it would be, they can always make a comeback. Marlon Brando was hardly prolific in the latter years of his career, but he still considered quitting after a miserable shoot.
Of course, this being Brando, it wasn’t quite as straightforward as it may seem. Many stars have spoken about how production has been so taxing, demanding, draining, and exhausting that it left them contemplating their future. In contrast, in this case, the two-time Academy Award winner magically changed his tune when his salary was significantly increased.
Virtually withdrawing from Hollywood and the public eye after the release of Apocalypse Now, Brando only made two pictures in the entirety of the 1980s. The Formula and A Dry White Season were released in the first and last years of the decades, respectively, so it was clear that the influential thespian would only sign on for a project if he thought it was worth his time, with the financial incentives typically outweighing the creative opportunities.
Writer and director Andrew Bergman’s 1990 crime comedy The Freshman was only Brando’s third feature in 11 years, but did he turn up reinvigorated and re-energised to kick off a new decade on the right foot? Of course, he didn’t; he openly trashed the production in public and declared it to be one of the least enjoyable periods of his professional life.
Before it had even been released, Brando said the film was going to be “the biggest turkey of all time. ” In further glowing assessments, he predicted “it’s going to flop,” called it a “stinker” and “an unpleasant experience,” one that had sworn him off acting altogether: “But after this, I’m retiring.” Of course, money talks loudest in Hollywood, and a fat stack of cash completely changed his mind.
What he neglected to mention was that because the shooting schedule had been extended by a week, Brando demanded a million-dollar bonus on top of his pre-agreed paycheque to stick around. The producers and studio refused, which coincidentally is when he began trashing The Freshman in public.
However, after he went on the record denouncing it as being so bad that it was forcing him into retirement, Brando got his seven figures and completely changed his tune. Issuing an apology, The Godfather favourite blamed “trying times of a personal nature” for his evisceration of The Freshman, instead suggesting he was “wrong about the quality of the picture.”
In the most delicious twist of irony, The Freshman turned out to be Brando’s best-reviewed movie in years, his most acclaimed performance in a long time, and his first picture since Apocalypse Now to recoup its budget at the box office. Funnily enough, a million dollars went a long way to changing the tune of a guy who wanted to retire because he hated it so much.
