Marlon Brando is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors to ever grace the screen, however, the man remained somewhat of an enigma throughout his career and personal life.

Brando got his start in the role of Stanley Kowalski in the Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire during its 1947-49 run, a role he would later make one of his most loved in the film version (1951).

Later gaining cultural icon status, Brando’s Oscar-winning performances came as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954) and Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972). His work as an activist with American Indian Rights Movements, had never been more blatant than his Best Actor Oscar acceptance speech for The Godfather. See it here, it’s worth a watch.

The 1970s also saw Brando star in many critical and commercial failures. 1978’s Superman featured Brando as Jor-El, a role which was essentially a large cameo, however, he was the highest payed and reached a time where he refused to learn his lines. A year later he played Colonel Walter Kurtz, teaming up once more with The Godfather’s director Francis Ford Coppola for Apocalypse Now. Another truly epic performance in an epic film.

Marlon Brando’s icon status is known the world over and is still celebrated by the entertainment industry.

As director Martin Scorsese said, “He is the marker. There’s ‘before Brando’ and ‘after Brando’.”

And Jack Nicholson, “When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one.”

Every now and then on the Paul Evans blog, we’re going to be putting a spotlight on the men who have inspired our shoes.

Once getting to know the men, it’s easier to work out…