Today would have been the 96th birthday of arguably the greatest action of all time. Omaha’s own Marlon Brando came into the world nearly a full century ago, and, before he was even middle-aged, he was already being touted as the finest actor who ever lived, and this was still while John Gielgud, Peter O’Toole, and the legendary Lawrence Olivier were still making some of the finest work of their careers.
It’s hard to say exactly what made Brando as great as he was; many attribute it to ‘The Method,” the acting process that became synonymous with Brando and has been taken up by such modern legends as Daniel Day-Lewis, who famously refuses to break character on set, even when eating lunch with fellow castmates.
But here we are, decades after he has passed his prime, Brando remains one of, if not the, actor of actor’s whose characters remain some of the most iconic of all time. Everyone can do an impression of Don Vito Corleone, to varying degrees. Everybody has uttered the phrase “I coulda binna contendah” at least a few times in their lives. And most of us have uttered the phrase “…the horror…the horror” when coming home to a sink full of dirty dishes. Brando simply is woven into the fabric of both film and our culture at large.
So, to honor one of our favorite actors and the man who was Superman’s father, we wanted to go through Brando’s five most iconic style roles. Yes, they may also coincide with some of his greatest acting roles, but that’s just icing on the cake.
A Streetcar Names Desire (1951)
Never before has underwear been worn so well and so prominently as standard clothing, and after the release of Streetcar, sales of white undershirts went up threefold, and they remain to this day one of the most iconic outfit items men can wear.
The Wild One (1953)
Picture your typical ’50s motorcycle rebel and you’ll inevitably picture The Wild One and the character Johnny Strabler, who is the archetypal figure people picture when thinking about gangsters of the era, fro, the head to toe leather to the snarky attitude and dislike of authority (“What are you rebelling against? Whatta you got?”) Take a look at any biker today and you’ll see someone who, at least in part and unconsciously, is ripping off Brando.
On The Waterfront (1954)
The first of the great Brando coats, and the source of his first Oscar win*. This is the picture that really solidified Brando as not just a great leading man, but an actor to be reckoned with. And, unlike Terry Malloy, proved that he did become something.
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Still controversial to this day, Last Tango features Brando in probably the most iconic coat until Harrison Ford’s giant mantel in 1982’s Blade Runner. While the film itself may not have aged well, that coat remains a must-have item in every man’s outerwear collection.
The Godfather (1972)
You knew it was coming. Any mention of Brando instantly elicits mention of The Godfather, easily his most iconic and celebrated role EVER. The only thing more impressive than Brando’s performance (“Look how they massacred my boy…”) is the iconic 1950s tailoring his character sports in what is considered the best film ever made. We disagree on the last note, but the titular performance is possibly the best example of pathos, concentration, and intensity ever caught on celluloid.
MANNER 