Marlon Brandon Used Cue Cards For The Godfather (PC: IMDB)
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Whenever we talk about renowned method actors, Marlon Brando is the name that never skips our mind. Globally known for his cult classic, The Godfather, the actor had different techniques in his acting which were a bit unconventional but impactful. In today’s piece, we’ll be talking about one such method he was popularly known for, which he even used for his aforementioned crime drama.
It’s strange that the actor who was known for nailing his role to utmost perfection opted for not memorising most of his lines for The Godfather. Yes, you read that right! Instead, he used to read it from cue cards while shooting. He did it intentionally as he wanted to portray his dialogues in cold faced look, looking completely natural.
As Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone was a big shot and had an expressionless face all through The Godfather, the actor decided to only read most of his dialogues to get the authentic performance out of him.
Apart from Marlon Brando’s straight-faced act, the other most noticeable feature of his Vito Corleone’s was his Bulldog like mouth, which was originally the idea of the actor himself. But it wasn’t an easy task at all, to pull such a look.
Reportedly, it used to take three long hours to transform Brando to don Vito Corleone for The Godfather. And as a special touch for that Bulldog look, steel dentures were fixed in the lower teeth area of the actor. Just imagine, the kind of patience Marlon had while shooting for the film.
While recalling such interesting facts, one saying comes to the mind – “The actor has to develop his body. The actor has to work on his voice. But the most important thing the actor has to work on is his mind.”
