Marlon Brando Made Bank for ‘The Godfather,’ but Not Because of His Salary

Marlon Brando was certainly a complicated man. An activist and icon, yet also stubborn, arrogant, and a brilliant actor. He commanded the screen with his roles in films such as On the Waterfront and Apocalypse Now, with The Godfather arguably being considered his greatest performance. His presence on screen made him an imperious figure as Vito Corleone, from the first moment we saw him silently sitting in his office, listening to the undertaker, Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto), explain his desire for revenge on Vito’s daughter’s wedding day. Because of this brilliance, Brando often commanded high salaries and was, financially, the top dog on set during his career.

Yet, with this gift came the attitude and arrogance. So much so that, by the time of The Godfather, Brando was almost passed over by Paramount Pictures. Obviously, we know that they chose him in the end, but what may surprise you is that he was initially paid less than his standard rate. However, this was still more than anyone else got at the time, and Brando’s savvy negotiating more than made up for his minute pay cut.

Marlon Brando Was Initially Unwanted By Paramount and Paid Less Than Usual For ‘The Godfather’ as a Result

As previously mentioned, Brando had given some truly magnificent and acclaimed performances in his career before The Godfather in films such as On the Waterfront, where Brando earned himself the first of two Oscars for Best Actor, the second coming with his role in Francis Ford Coppola‘s gangster drama. Because of this, the actor was paid huge sums during the 1960s, making over $1 million for 1962’s historical piece Mutiny On The Bounty, as reported via Guinness World Records, which made him the first actor to break the $1 million threshold, worth roughly $10.4 million when using an inflation calculator. However, for The Godfather, Brando was only paid a fee of $250,000 upfront, via Smithsonian Magazine, much lower than what he had gotten in the past despite it being far more than the $35,000 Al Pacino received as the lead man, as reported by The Economic Times.

Yet, this was because Paramount did not initially want Brando. Although he is celebrated now, at the time The Godfather was being cast, Brando had developed a reputation and was known as difficult to work with. Furthermore, his recent box office outings had been failures, which made it harder for Paramount to justify any kind of large salary. Even getting him to be considered was difficult for Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, author of the original novel, who were desperate to cast him and had to force the studio to watch an impromptu screen test of Brando’s to get him the part. However, when he was cast, few could argue he didn’t more than repay their faith.

Marlon Brando Made a Large Amount Via a Percentage of ‘The Godfather’ Profits

Whilst the upfront amount would not have been what Brando was hoping for, smart negotiating meant that, in the long run, the actor was more than fairly compensated. As reported by The New York Times, Brando received a percentage of the profits, netting him an additional $1.6 million from the $160 million The Godfather earned. Similar deals like this have been made in the past and show how an actor’s contract can make them far more money after the film has been released than before, with another example being Alec Guinness for Star Wars, who was only paid $150,000 in 1976, but a 2.25% cut of the profits meant he earned $95 million by his death in 2000, via The Hollywood Reporter.

In the end, we see how Marlon Brando’s involvement in The Godfather was not the guaranteed success that we think of today. Initially, the actor’s poor reputation on set, coupled with large salaries and small box-office returns, meant that Paramount didn’t even want to consider him as an option. Consequentially, when he was cast, Brando received a small salary by his standards yet was still paid more than anyone else up front. However, Brando’s contract meant he would be well looked after with the success of the film, and it is hard not to argue he was worth it, as he gave one of the best performances in the greatest film of all time.