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Marlon Brando  «   » 
 Roles turned down by Marlon Brando:

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Brando was Gilliam's original choice for Vulcan.
Actor who got the part: Oliver Reed

Angel Heart
Brando was oringaly considerd to play Louis Chyper.
Actor who got the part: Robert De Niro

The Arrangement
Director Elia Kazan wanted Marlon Brando to star in the film about a rich man involved with his wife and a beautiful young woman. Brando withdrew after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Actor who got the part: Kirk Douglas

Autumn Leaves
Joan Crawford wanted Marlon Brando to play opposite her as the mentally ill Burt Hanson in this March/December romance.
Actor who got the part: Cliff Robertson

Batman Returns
Director Tim Burton had favoured Brando for the role of the Penguin. Batman creator Bob Kane had declared this to be the worst possible candidate for the role.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Brando was considered for a role at one time.

Child's Play
The mercurial actor signed to play one of the key roles in director Sidney Lumet's screen version of the hit Broadway thriller by Robert Marasco set in an exclusive boys' school. Brando quit when he realized that James Mason had the much better role.
Actor who got the part: Robert Preston

Cleopatra (1963)
Sought after for the role of Marc Antony, but was unavailable.
Actor who got the part: Richard Burton

The Conqueror
"The Conqueror" was written for Brando to portray Genghis Khan. He wisely refused. Incredibly, John Wayne agreed to star, and gave a performance so bad that it has to be seen to be believed.The movie is a camp classic!
Actor who got the part: John Wayne

The Conversation
One of Francis Ford Coppola's greatest films was first imagined with Brando starring and a more horror-oriented slant.
Actor who got the part: Gene Hackman

The Defiant Ones
Brando was reportedly the first choice but was busy with another project. Not wanting to risk losing Potier, producers decided to go with Tony Curtis.
Actor who got the part: Tony Curtis

Deliverance
Brando was director John Boorman's first choice to play "Lewis Medlock."
Actor who got the part: Burt Reynolds

Doctor Zhivago
Master filmmaker David Lean offered Brando the role of "Victor Komarovsky," but never got a response.
Actor who got the part: Rod Steiger

The Egyptian
Was signed to star as "Sinuhe," but so disliked the script and co-star Bella Darvi, he pulled out of the project and was instead forced to make "Desiree" without salary for the same studio.
Actor who got the part: Edmund Purdom

Equus
Marlon Brando was interested in playing Martin Dysart.
Actor who got the part: Richard Burton

The Exorcist
The studio wanted Brando to play Father Merrin but Friedkin felt he was too big a star.
Actor who got the part: Max Von Sydow

Flaming Star
The film was originally intended to star Brando, not Presley.
Actor who got the part: Elvis Presley

The Godfather Part II
According to director Francis Coppola, Marlon promised to show up for a cameo repeating his role as Don Vito Corleone in a flashback sequence, but the actor never showed up, so Coppola restaged the scene.

The Graduate
Marlon Brando was considered for the part of Mr. Robinson.
Actor who got the part: Murray Hamilton

The Great Gatsby
Marlon Brando was considered for the role of Jay Gatsby.
Actor who got the part: Robert Redford

High Noon
Turned down the role of "Will Kane" in the classic Western drama.
Actor who got the part: Gary Cooper

JFK
Was considered for either Jim Garrison or Mr. "X".

The King and I
Was considered as a possibile candidate to play "King Mongkut."
Actor who got the part: Yul Brynner

Lawrence of Arabia
Producer David Lean wanted Brando for the role of "Lawrence", but he was already shooting Mutiny on the Bounty and the production schedule was extented many months and he had to refuse.
Actor who got the part: Peter O'Toole

Lolita (1962)
Legendary director Stanley Kubrick offered him the role of novelist Humbert Humbert.
Actor who got the part: James Mason

Man on Fire
The script had been around for years and Brando was considered in the beginning.

The Man with the Golden Arm
Marlon Brando was offered the role at the same time as Frank Sinatra, who accepted before Brando could respond.
Actor who got the part: Frank Sinatra

Marnie
Director Alfred Hitchcock considered Marlon Brando for the leading male role.
Actor who got the part: Sean Connery

Mister Roberts
Turned down the role of "Lt. Douglas A. Roberts" in the movie version of the hit Broadway comedy-drama set about a U.S. Navy ship during the second World War.
Actor who got the part: Henry Fonda

Nostromo
David Lean chose Brando as one of his stars of a dream project, the movie version of Joseph Conrad's novel. Lead died before he could realize his dream.
Actor who got the part: Project Abandoned

Oklahoma!
Was suggested for the role of sexy, dangerous ranch hand "Jud Fry," in the film version of the revolutionary Broadway musical hit.
Actor who got the part: Rod Steiger

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Marlon Brando was considered for the role of McMurphy.
Actor who got the part: Jack Nicholson

Performance
The screenplay was written with Brando in mind to star opposite Mick Jagger.
Actor who got the part: James Fox

Rebel Without a Cause
Producer Jerry Wald had Brando lined up for a movie version of Dr. Robert M. Lindner's non-fiction work about the analysis of a young criminal. The project was shelved, but later, reconstituted with another script concept and leading man.
Actor who got the part: James Dean

RKO 281
Marlon Brando was cast as William Randolph Hearst, but eventually dropped out.
Actor who got the part: James Cromwell

Salvador
Brando was the first choice for the role of Richard Boyle but turned it down.
Actor who got the part: James Woods

Scary Movie 2
Marlon Brando was payed $1 million to play Father McFeely in the Exorcist spoof. He accepted the role but was diagnosed with pneumonia and could not film the part.
Actor who got the part: James Woods

Senso
According to his book, Include me Out, Farley Granger states that he was the second choice for the leading male role after Brando turned it down. History would repeat when Brando also turned down the starring role in "the Egyptian" which in turn Granger turned down.
Actor who got the part: Farley Granger

A Star Is Born (1954)
Considered for the role of the frightened, self-destructive movie star "Norman Maine."
Actor who got the part: James Mason

A Star Is Born (1976)
Barbra Streisand wanted him for her leading man.

Sudden Fear
Brando was offered the role of the actor who harbors dangerous ulterior motives.
Actor who got the part: Jack Palance






Did you know that Marlon Brando was not the only choice for these movies? (click to learn more)
» Apocalypse Now
» A Countess From Hong Kong
» The Godfather
» Guys and Dolls
» Julius Caesar
» Last Tango in Paris
» On The Waterfront
» Reflections in a Golden Eye
» A Streetcar Named Desire
» Superman Returns
» Teahouse of The August Moon
» Viva Zapata!

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