Superman has taken down a lot of villains, including his own father, apparently.
A recent social media post of Christopher Reeve on the Late Show with David Letterman has rapidly grown in popularity, hitting nearly two million views thanks to what the Superman actor says about the Godfather actor Marlon Brando.
In the Superman film from 1978, Reeve’s first of four films in the iconic titular role, Marlon Brando played the role of Superman’s father, Jor-El. The role was brief, with Brando seen on film for less than 20 minutes while being paid better than any of his fellow cast mates.
In 1982, Reeve was on Letterman’s show to promote his new movie Deathtrap. By then, Reeve had already starred in two Superman films and it was always a hot topic since he is so connected to the role. He even expressed how he is proud to be known for it.
Thus, Letterman naturally asked Reeve what it was like to work with the legendary Marlon Brando, initially posing the question, “Anything interesting come of that relationship?”
Reeve hesitated but surprisingly replied, “I don’t say this to be vicious but I don’t worship at the altar of Marlon Brando.”
Reeve immediately explains that the press loved him “whether he was good, bad, or indifferent,” and says Brando “copped out” because he’s not a leader for young actors and doesn’t care anymore. Letterman seemed surprised by Reeve’s honesty, and even joked that Brando was there to discuss things, which received quite the laughter.
Perhaps funnier was Letterman offering a chance to give Reeve a positive thing to say about Brando and Reeve refusing. Letterman asked, “Was it exciting to work with him?”
Reeve simply answered, “Not really. No.”
It’s worth noting that Brando being extremely strange, if not difficult, on the set of Superman is no big secret. Director Richard Donner had to put Brando’s lines on the other actor’s chests during his scenes because Brando didn’t want to memorize any lines out of fear they wouldn’t come out genuine, something he had done in other films as well. So, he would read the lines on the respective actor who stood before him for that moment. That wasn’t the only oddity of Brando’s work on the film, who earned — I use that word loosely — as much as $3.7 million for his 13 days on set, reported by Variety.
So, Reeve’s statements are understandable because Marlon Brando made it all about him. Though one can say that Brando is not obligated to try and help other actors in their craft either.
Reeve did note that Brando is a brilliant actor but that he is also no longer motivated. He added one more opinion as a follow-up to saying working with Brando was not exciting. “I had a wonderful time,” Reeve explained, “but the man didn’t care — I’m sorry — he just, you know, he took the $2 million and ran.”
The replies to the social media post have mostly been favorable to Reeve, with many pointing out how absurd Brando became in the latter part of his career.
Both Reeve and Brando passed away in 2004. Brando was 80. Reeve was just 52.