"I have no respect for acting. Acting by and large is an expression of a neurotic impulse . . . I've never in my life met an actor who was not neurotic . . . I think the truth is that actors are actors because it gives them sustenance for their narcissism. Acting enables them to experience a false sense of love and attention, the same kind of attention given any exhibition . . . Acting is a bum's life in that it leads to perfect self-indulgence."(Marlon Brando in Portrait of the Rebel as an Artist by B. Thomas. p153)


"I've always tried to run acting down . . . I don't know why. It's not a bad thing to do in life after all. . . Everybody has had the experience of feeling: Christ the world is coming to an end. And you go watch John Wayne riding across the prairie, and you see grass blowing and the clouds, and he grabs the girl and they ride off into the sunset. You went in there feeling awful and you came out feeling good. He made you feel good. That's not bad. that's not a bad thing to do in life . ."(Marlon Brando in Brando: The Unauthorized Biography by Morella and Epstein. p 142-3)


(All quotes found in The Way of the Actor by Brian Bates)

:: note :: . . . Bates concluded writing: "The way of the actor keeps us in contact with the mystery which lies at the heart of life." . . . Brando on the screen communicated all of that mystery and all of that heart . . . the horror, the horror . . .




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