Marlon Brando- the name alone is enough to make cinephiles go in awe and remember some of the best works that Hollywood had to offer. Brando represented nonconformity and rebellion in cinema. Nothing short of an acting genius. He shot his first film, Men, at the age of 26, and the second, A Streetcar Named Desire, which immediately made him an acting reference. Now, 20 years after his passing, Brando has still managed to earn himself a new admirer, and it’s none other than Joe Rogan. In the latest edition of his ‘University of JRE’, Rogan talked about the brilliance of Brando alongside his guest for the show, Greg Fitzsimmons.

In the episode, Rogan couldn’t help but praise how different Brando was from other actors and how his introverted personality might’ve helped him master his characters. Rogan said, “That guy was out of his mind. Got an island. Became 350 lbs. Hung out by himself on an island. But that’s probably why he was so good. You know when you talk about like original comics, like he’s the original actor. You know ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’; watch that movie. Like nobody acted like that back then.” However, there is more than meets the eye. There are more reasons as to why Brando stood out and why his acting made Rogan believe that other Hollywood actors back then sounded fake.

Major credit goes to his acting school, the Actor’s Studio. Long before his Holywood debut, the legendary actor had already stood out on the stage of the theater. In the Actor’s Studio, he soaked up the techniques of the ‘Stanislavski method’ from the hands of legends such as Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. Legendary actors such as James Dean and Paul Newman were also a part of the same acting class as Brando’s but were years his senior.

But what was the Stanislavski method? Fitzsimmons had the answer- “It’s based on listening and answering and being in the moment. And it was about finding emotional truth and coming from that. Rather than from the dialogue. You didn’t study the dialogue and recite it. You found where the emotional truth of where this character was, and then you just unleashed it. And you and you found the moment in that. And that started this whole kind of realistic acting.”

Well, it surely looks like Rogan has become a fan of this style of voice-modulated acting. Since the UFC commentator believes that other actors from Brando’s time sounded fake. Unlike the Hollywood icon who acted as if he really was the character. He said, “Yeah, that talk so weird back then. And they talk fake. It was like fake. He was the first guy to like ‘Oh, that seems like he’s really experiencing that right now. He’s really upset.” 

Despite other actors learning the same method and giving their best, it was Brando who truly defined the era with his brilliant performances. But it wasn’t just his acting skills that made him an icon. He was also a philanthropist who once pulled a stunt at the Oscars that unfortunately backfired. One move that was even mentioned by Rogan himself.

The Marlon Brando Oscar incident

Back in 1973, Marlon Brando refused to accept the Oscar he won for his role in The Godfather. Instead, he sent a woman named Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American, on stage to deliver a powerful speech in which she revealed that Brando had refused to accept the award, and instead, he wanted her to have the opportunity to talk about the misrepresentation of Native Americans in the industry. It truly became an iconic moment at the Oscars.

But there was a plot twist that no one saw coming. On the Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC commentator talked about the plot twist as he said, “Marlon Brando, when he won the Academy Award, did not accept the Academy Award and instead had a Native American woman go up there and accept the award. And it turns out that she wasn’t really Native American. She was fake.”

It was a major revelation that was made by the sister of Littlefeather as she revealed that neither she nor her sister have any Native American heritage. However, by the time the revelation was made, Sacheen Littlefeather had already passed away. But despite the controversy, there is no denying that the Godfather truly stood for what he believed was right.

What about you? Are you a fan of the Hollywood icon? Let us know in the comments.