At first Marlon Brando had a problem–His reputation and previous movie performances made studio execs cautious, but Francis Ford Coppola, didn’t care; he wouldn’t accept no as an answer–Brando was Don Corleone, he knew, knew it in his bones.
Coppola had to fight like hell though–Suits at Paramount said Brando was poisonous, too difficult, too expensive–His latest movies had lost money, but Coppola made a wise move–He headed to Brando’s Mulholland Drive residence–took a secret screen test, right there in Brando’s living room.
The test lacked refinement–just brando, some cosmetics, and a camera–Brando flushed cotton balls in his cheeks, pushed back his hair–Started talking low and quiet–Right there, Don Corleone appeared, no script, no rehearsal–Just pure instinct–When the executives saw that footage–they shut up fast. Brando’d changed–The authority was present, the control, the menace. They still had their demands, though–Brando had to labor for scale, $50,000 flat, had to pay a bail for any delays he brought about–Had to complete a full screen test at Paramount.
Brando tackled everything–By then, he wanted the part as much as Coppola wanted–Sometimes an actor and a role, they’re meant for each other, this was one of those times.