The legends Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro are two of the most prolific figures the cinema industry has ever produced, both are double Oscar-winning actors. At first glance, they didn't appear to be quite relatable other than playing the same iconic role as the Crime boss Veto Corleone in the Godfather I and II. However, it seems we didn't join enough dots to figure out the connection between the two because the actors actually had a lot more in common than we thought.
Let's start with what matters the most in Hollywood, the Oscars. Both the actors bagged their first Oscar for portraying characters that were already well established - Brando reprised the role of Stanley Kowalski for 1951's The Streetcar Named Desire and De Niro received the award for upholding the legacy of Godfather's Veto Corleone. Next up is something that has never happened in the industry except just once. De Niro and Brando are the only two actors to have been honored with separate Oscars for playing the same role as the crime boss in the first two films of the Godfather series.
It's surprising because a huge number of great roles have been portrayed by extremely talented actors such as James Bond.
Brando played the older Veto Corleone while De Niro's portrayal presented the character's transition from his childhood to an all-strong crime lord. This is exactly where the actors' personality traits come into play. This is due to similarities in their personality that the actors pulled off the same character with an equally effective flair. Besides being dimensionally similar, the set of expressions and body language the duo applied to their roles simply goes flawlessly. Mind it, both actors are reputed to speak more with expressions than words.
Godfather is how most people identify their relationship but as a matter of fact, the top guns of Hollywood have even shared the silver screen. 2001's crime/drama The Score marked the first and last time, the two showcased their skill set in the same movie. During the shoot of the same movie, Brando was impressed with De Niro's work, and asked him to shoot a five-page-long scene, which wasn't an easy job. The De Niro recalled that moment saying, “Marlon was upset with the director (Frank Oz) and he wanted me to direct a scene, I was terribly anxious before we started shooting it, and then it was fine.”
Call it just the nature of the scene or whatever but the acting skills they displayed are the testament of how indistinguishable they are as actors. To name a few common traits - they both keep smirking while talking, the dialogue delivery just feels so relevant for the situation. Even if you have no iota of information about the background of the movie, the scene still makes you stick to it thanks to the intensity of unsurpassable talent. Just check it out for yourself. By the way, did you also think they were cutting each other some slack in the scene?
The film impressed both critics and the audience. The Rolling Stone critic, Peter Travers highlighted the union of Godfathers, "Two Don Corleones team up, the kind of movie that makes people say, 'I'd pay to see these guys just read from the phone book.” He added on, "There's nothing you can't see coming in this flick, including the surprise ending. Quick, somebody get a phone book."
What most of us don't know is that in addition to professional connections, the actors share the same ancestral root i.e. Ireland. Well, the duo has bewildered us through and through with larger than life performances, rivaled by no other actor in the industry.
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