Almost one hundred years have passed since the birth of the interpreter, who triumphed thanks to films like 'A Streetcar Named Desire' or 'The Godfather' and moved away from his problems in his particular paradise.
Most knew him as the best film actor. Others cursed the time at which they had crossed paths with him. As the legend of him was forged, following his portrayal of Kowalski in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' in 1951, Marlon Brando's character became more and more difficult. They say that on some filmings he refused to memorize his lines. Also, being older, everyone who wanted him in his film had to adapt to his conditions.
In 1978, when Warner offered him the role of 'Superman's' father, he demanded the highest salary that an actor had ever demanded: seven million dollars. The play turned out perfectly, since he barely appeared on the screen for seven minutes. Brando was born on April 3, 1924, 95 years ago. His foul-mouthed nature and the freedom with which he lived made it difficult to work with him. He also retains his friendship.
When 'Brando's Smile' was published in 2014, a biography in which his s---al dalliances were narrated, some of his professional colleagues did not come out very well. For example, when he had the opportunity to sleep with Sophia Loren, with whom he filmed 'The Countess of Hong Kong' (1967), he said that he rejected her because “her breath was worse than that of a dinosaur.” . He claimed about Elizabeth Taylor, between takes of 'Reflections in a Golden Eye' (1967), that her butt was “too small.”
An outspoken man and epitome of the legendary 'method' that forever changed film acting, his ending was bittersweet. In recent years, he was left broke after paying for the legal defense of Christian, his son. The young man had been sentenced to five years in prison for murdering his stepsister's boyfriend. Legal help was of little use to him, since Chris committed suicide in 1996. Sunk in sadness and with those extra kilos that restricted his mobility, Brando was forced to live on a meager pension as an actor. Furthermore, he abandoned his mansion on Mulholland Drive for the only thing they say he could afford: a simple room.
Nobody understands that, given these economic hardships at the end of his days, he did not sell the island he owned: Tetiaroa, an atoll located in French Polynesia. In 1962, when he was already a star that no one criticized, he fell in love with the place, which he met while filming 'Rebellion on the Board'. The place had something magical for him, since it was also there where he fell in love with Tarita, a beautiful Tahitian who would become his third wife.
The place had belonged to the Tahitian royal family and ended up in the hands of the star in 1966, when he obtained a 99-year lease. With paradise in hand, every time Brando wanted to escape from Hollywood, the problems of his son or a pressing alcoholism, he took refuge on his island. When Brando died in 2004, the property passed to his son Teihotu.
Years later, it has become a resort with 35 luxury villas adorning the coast of Motu Onetahi. Today, its success is undoubted: from Obama himself to Pippa Middleton and James Matthews, who chose the place for their honeymoon, have passed through there.
In memory of the actor, this eco-resort is called The Brando. Now a vacation destination, much has changed since it was the island where Marlon Brando calmed his inner demons. When he experienced his own 'fall from the gods', the actor gave in to the world, but there were two things he never gave up: his island and that misanthropy that ended up distancing him from mortals. After all, that's how legends die.
