In Waltzing with Brando, Billy Zane delivers an uncanny portrayal of the legendary Marlon Brando, and there’s a very simple secret to channelling one of cinema’s greatest icons — don’t give a shit.
While speaking with Empire, Zane explained that his approach to playing Brando was to do it “counter-intuitively,” which is to say, “to do it as if he would have done it, which was to not give a shit. I had to just be in his headspace.” This method even extends to include moments where Zane recreates scenes from some of Brando’s most iconic movies, such as The Godfather, Superman, and Apocalypse Now. “It was such a beautiful and collaborative effort that painted those moments and the meticulous task of those recreations,” Zane said, adding that it meant going “frame by frame, breath by breath.“
Although Brando was one of the all-time greats, there’s no denying that he liked to take the easy way whenever possible. He even read his lines off cue cards (sometimes attached to his fellow actors) instead of memorizing them.
Directed and written by Bill Fishman (Tapeheads), Waltzing with Brando is based on the published memoir by Los Angeles architect Bernard Judge. The film follows “Brando (Zane) — then the most famous actor in the world — as he filmed Mutiny On The Bounty and bought a tiny and uninhabitable island in Tahiti. His intent was to escape his hectic Hollywood lifestyle and show the world the path to sustainability. To achieve this goal, he plucks Judge (Jon Heder), an obscure but idealistic Los Angeles architect, from his stable existence and convinces him that together they could build the world’s first truly sustainable ecological retreat.“
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly in 2019, Zane said he was eager to shine a light on a side of Brando that wasn’t seen much. “He may be the biggest star in the world — or so they said — or the most famous man…. but he was on the s— list and he was on the outs, and maybe [his] retreat was licking his wounds,” he said. “The man was a recluse who moved to an island, yet is up all night on shortwave radio [and] can’t sleep alone. He had many children. It’s like, what led to that? He’s full of contradictions. That was touching to me.” The film is set to be released on September 19.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed