There will be a lot of talk about Brando and his impact on acting, and on film in general over the course of this next week. However, I would rather sit back and watch that tribute develop instead of adding too much of my voice to the equation. It is not that I do not have something to offer. I certainly have a lot to say about Brando. His art has had a profound impact on how I look at art and life through a shamelessly passionate lens. He was so animalistic that you can not help but be freed, unleashed by viewing his performances.
I will try to sum up how I feel about him with this tribute. Picasso once said, "When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."
I think Picasso's mother was accurate in her summation, and there are only a handful of people who changed their profession so profoundly that this quote could be appropriate for them as well, but Brando was one of them. If he had been a soldier, he'd have become a general. If he had become a monk he would have ended up as the pope. Instead he became an actor and wound up as Brando. 'Nuff said.