Sir John Gielgud on Working With Marlon Brando | The Dick Cavett Show

Sir John Gielgud discusses working alongside Marlon Brando in the 1953 adaptation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
Date aired - April 28th 1971 - John Gielgud
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Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.

His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.

Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.
#thedickcavettshow #JohnGielgud #MarlonBrando #JuliusCaesar

[@kalsolarUK]

Dick Cavett truly mastered the art of letting the guests actually speak. Wonderful stuff.

[@raindancer80]

Yes he was good. Only to be scuppered by the frequent commercial breaks he had to announce.

[@brucehauser6826]

Absolutely, something todays interviewers have completely missed or simply forgot.....

[@annemccarron2281]

He is so intelligent, classy, well dressed & handsome. The best interviewer of all time.

[@gaskellr44]

We had a good interviewer in the UK Michael Parkinson, slightly different style but was happy to mix jovial conversation with serious topics and not like these days, talk about bland, inane subject matter.

[@ukrandr]

Spot on observation. I would add that not letting John Gielgud speak could be very nearly considered a crime against humanity.

[@SIBliss]

Can you imagine Marlon Brando as Hamlet directed by Gielgud? It would have been extraordinary.

[@ashcross]

Literally more eloquence and more insight into Brando's youthful psychology in under three minutes than you would find in an equivalent hour-long documentary or some other modern interview, most of which pale against Gielgud in full flow. Oh god, how trivial we have become!

[@viborgvee8399]

Speak for yourself! Quite tired of this ubiquitous bashing of modern this and modern that absolutely EVERYWHERE in KZbin comments sections, under every video! Bellyaching about modern music, modern cinema, modern books… I grow weary and tired of it.

[@ashcross]

@@viborgvee8399 simply compare these interviews to vacuous modern ones. The differences are staggering.

[@blanchefan]

You are very perceptive, ash; thank you for this. I especially appreciate the comment about insight into Brando's youthful psychology. :)

[@painstruck01]

​@@viborgvee8399LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!!!

[@Kipero7]

​@@painstruck01 Succinctly put. *slow clap*

[@gregcruse4647]

These uploads are absolute gold. Sadly we can see how diminshed discourse has become these past 50 years.Thank heavens we have access to these gems

[@John-kd4ef]

Here, here. Jolly good, what?

[@enfacedeglace]

I couldn't agree with you more. What has become of culture?

[@anacletwilliams8315]

@@enfacedeglace Culture, what culture? It's vanished.

[@giovanna8187]

Yes, that was superb. Wow, Gielgud was as sharp as they come.

[@davidhardiman9603]

​@@giovanna8187 yes dead right. He was generous and informative at once without being patronising.

[@Wills_Duffy]

Sir John takes every micro second of conversational time and runs more per second of mile per thought than the fools on the chat shows today bunched together in one year.

[@TheColdplay200]

Facts

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@WillsDuffy If that's the way you generally speak then hopefully you'll never be invited onto a talk show.

[@kreek22]

For some reason I misread "chat shows" as "cat shows", and suffered an image of The View to passed through my mind's eye, until rescued by rereading the phrase properly.

[@IsabelSantosCunha1972]

exactly

[@jenlambie14]

What a charming, urbane, amazingly talented man - Sir John Gielgud RIP

[@davidcopson5800]

So true.

[@alext2566]

Gielgud had an incredible grasp on the english language. I'm in awe at his discourse ability coming across as poised and eloquent, yet humble. Then again, he is the greatest actor of all time.

[@dstatton]

I remember seeing Gielgud reciting a poem (also probably on Cavett). He began to weep at the beauty of it, but his voice never wavered. A real pro. The great British actors of that era (Guinness, Olivier, Richardson) always found time for the stage between films.

[@marysullivan345]

yes, it was on the dick cavett show. the poem was 'bredon hill' by ae housman and your memory is correct. gielgud's voice never wavered as a single tear rolled down his cheek as he recited. I always marveled at the artistry of that moment and I've never forgotten. I was twenty years old, loved the dick cavett show and his eclectic roster of guests. isn't it wonderful that these treasures live on you tube.

[@laurahoward5426]

They were primarily stage actors, who made time for films

[@jm1657]

@@marysullivan345 Thanks for this info!

[@lonestar6709]

_"He was so majestic, I'm sure John was born with a crown on his head."_ -Laurence Olivier. _"From the neck up... he's the greatest actor of all time."_ -Kenneth Tynan. _"Whenever John speaks the verse, I can hear Shakespeare thinking."_ -Lee Strasburg. I doubt any actor in history, has been praised more than Sir John Gielgud.

[@alanscott6836]

The film version of Julius Caesar with Brando and Gielgud is magnificent.

[@bod-essebod-esse4142]

Yes, it's a must-watch.

[@astolatpere11]

That exchange showcases more intelligence than the past 10 years of talk shows combined.

[@drjohnson98]

Geez, it seems like every segment from the Dick Cavett Show is a national treasure. Great talents with interesting things to say. As to Sir John, what a gracious gentlemen he was toward Marlon Brando.

[@franksfiddle9031]

He was a classy man for sure. I'm not sure that all stage actors were so gracious towards what they viewed as the lesser actors of film and television.

[@drjohnson98]

@@franksfiddle9031 You got right to my point. And Sir John could have gone that route. Or he could have fluffed it off and said, "oh, he was wonderful." Instead, he gave an insightful appreciation of the strengths of Brando's performance, while honestly assessing the weaknesses and explaining what they were rooted in, while never slighting Brando's natural talent, and giving him the great compliment of saying he wanted to direct him in Hamlet. Really a master class in being classy.

[@jadezee6316]

@@franksfiddle9031 pound for pound there is no question....the british stage actors that american audiences got to know.....were indeed far superior actors than film and tv actors ..in this country.

[@Sulu-sw3zo]

@@drjohnson98 well said

[@SpaceCattttt]

People tend to be nice to those they have a crush on...

[@NJTDover]

What a fascinating eloquence. That's what grammar school used to produce back in England.

[@TheFallenColumn]

It also produced many emotionally stunted students scarred, abused, and traumatized. But damn, they did sound smart.

[@geenadasilva9287]

Sir John Gielgud was a magnificent actor and a deeply decent man. His gleeful, mischievous wit and quite simply the most beautiful speaking voice i’ve ever heard made him truly unique. i was in the same audience as him and his long term partner to see Peter Brook’s adaptation of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat at the National Theatre in London. i was genuinely starstruck. i think his performance of Prospero’s speech “Ye Elves of Hills...” is the greatest piece of shakespearean verse speaking i’ve ever heard. it’s from Prospero’s Books

[@babsbestinhistory]

In another interview that Dick Cavett did Richard Burton describes Sir John as the greatest verse speaker of Shakespeare he's ever heard. Hard to argue.

[@AstralPixie]

To be hones, there are other Englishmen who I also put in the category of "greatest English speaking voices": SIr Cedric Hardwicke, Ronald Colman, Herbert Marshall, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains... to name a few.

[@kennethwayne6857]

@@AstralPixie And one of my favorites, Paul Scofield.

[@denis888red]

Nicely put Geena and so true.

[@MsAppassionata]

@@AstralPixie And one of mine is Robert Donat.

[@mccloysong]

For such a serious, dramatic actor, I'm so glad he could lighten up to do "Arthur" with Dudley Moore. No one could have done it better.

[@joesmoke9624]

At least he couldn’t be typecast after doing Arthur. Didn’t he play it well :)

[@alexleach6307]

He was a wonderful comic actor with great timing - unfortunate that when he died several tabloids heralded the news with 'Arthur's Butler Dies'...

[@jamesluby6705]

@@alexleach6307 I didn't realise that, how awful, sadly, it doesn't surprise me though...

[@Opheggie54]

@@joesmoke9624 thank goodness he was never typecasted because that's the mark of a great actor. He could play anyone

[@joesmoke9624]

@@Opheggie54 Absolutely

[@jackspry9736]

RIP and long live Sir John Gielgud (April 14, 1904 - May 21, 2000), aged 96 And RIP and long live Marlon Brando (April 3, 1924 - July 1, 2004), aged 80 You both will always be remembered as legends.

[@tatie7604]

Who cares? Legends for what? Acting?

[@joemarshall4226]

@@tatie7604 yes. Acting is a wonderful art, and very influential in the world, like writing or painting or teaching, or sculpture. If fact, "An actor is a sculptor who carves in snow." That was said before their were films. Now an actor's work can live forever.

[@MsAppassionata]

@@tatie7604 One can be a legend in any art form, whether it be music, art, or, believe it or not, acting. It’s not something that everyone can do well, and the truly gifted ones are rare.

[@davidcopson5800]

So many great actors born under the star sign of Aries.

[@thomasposey1757]

@@tatie7604 Their names will live forever, future generations will discover them for as long as people inhabit Earth.. How about your name?

[@rogerparis]

What a depth of words and understanding he possesses and all with that beautiful voice.

[@MartinT5600]

I'm from England so we didn't get the Dick Cavett show over here but absolutely every snippet I get recommended by You Tube is absolutely fantastic. A true living time capsule that encaptures its unique time in history. I don't know why he's not better known over here but he had a great show and interview technique.

[@funkyalfonso]

@AMT Yes.

[@Barimainlylow]

I was fortunate enough to see Gielgud perform in London in the late 1980's and what struck me about him other than his wonderful acting was his voice. I was in the cheap seats with an actor friend as far from the stage as you could possibly get but we heard his voice perfectly and every nuance and detail. Amazing

[@alexleach6307]

It was said Olivier was the best Shakespearian actor from the neck down, owing to his athleticism - but that voice made Gielgud the best from the neck up...

[@AthelstanEngland]

The acoustics in some of the proper London theatres are fantastic too.

[@richardthelionheart5594]

@@AthelstanEngland never

[@traceya9615]

Yes, I saw that play as well, "The Best Of Friends", co-starring Ray McAnally as G.B. Shaw and with Rosemary Harris. I was "up in the gods" as well but I didn't mind as it was a privilege to see and hear him. The audience loved him.

[@andreaschneider6202]

That is fabulous you saw Sir Gielgud on stage! Best wishes from NY🙏

[@indieshack4476]

What a wonderful clip - Gielgud is in top form, really great interviewee aided by one of the best, most thoughtful interviewers in the business (Cavett) who who poses a question then actually let's the interviewee speak without butting in!

[@matthewgallagher1761]

I wish I could say we get so little of this kind of elevated and enlightening conversation today, but, unfortunately, we get none of it. All TV talk shows are now just excuses for dumb gags, crude jokes, and the "host" interrupting the "guest" every five seconds.

[@diomedestydeus3298]

So true, but isn't revealing that so many of our youthful fellows seem to enjoy the uninspired useless drivel of the current late-night hosts. Late-night karaoke indeed! Am I being too harsh, lol?

[@robertsmith6068]

Matthew Gallagher good post, now everything is cheap and stupid.

[@jamesanthony5681]

And why are they doing that? Because the audiences are not there - at least in the numbers required - to have and sustain shows like Cavett or Paar or Susskind, to name three. Instead, a good part of the population has little or no idea of 20th century history, culture, science, and as a consequence they get fed dumb gags, crude jokes, interruptions, etc. I know of 2 individuals, both college educated, both in their mid 50's who, up until a few years ago, never heard of Joseph Stalin. Astonishing.

[@pam0626]

Spot on. Guests today are no longer required to string thoughts together, much less tell a story like this. I blame Jimmy Fallon.

[@jamesanthony5681]

@@pam0626 You get some of that, i.e, thoughtful conversation, good stories, with Conan O'Brien when he has a guest such as James Spader on his show. At least on the show that I watched. When Letterman left, I stopped watching almost entirely. Unfortunately, some of the old Paar, Carson and Cavett shows were taped over by the networks in their infinite wisdom to save money and space, thereby losing a treasure trove of great television.

[@nanosecondtomidnight7774]

This man knows what he is talking about.

[@tiffaniaporchiazzo3397]

What A Lovely Beautiful Man 🥰

[@katesleuth1156]

Finally, I get to see and hear this person, Sir John Gielgud, that everyone talks about.

[@reasonrestored9116]

Brando as Hamlet, directed by Gielgud. Can you imagine how interesting that would have been?

[@greaterbayareahero1401]

It’s such a shame he is no longer here with us. He had so much to offer the youths of today. His passion and knowledge in his work is at another level which is lost in this era.

[@AstralPixie]

That'a very thoughtful comment. Unfortunately, I think that you're right.

[@jasonpascual1073]

I thought he was still alive!

[@RG-ja34sep]

Can you believe this great actor’s voice? I could listen to him all day!

[@lulusaintly631]

What a great actor, and knew so much about acting, and what a great host, who would sit and let his guests talk, and be incisive and polite.

[@censusgary]

One of the greatest of the English school of actors, talking about one of the greatest of the American (“Method”) school of actors. That’s wonderful.

[@kweejibodali3078]

Wow John Gielgud, absolutely stunning

[@djmcnerney]

What a wonderful economy with words. I look forward to his next syllable!

[@asmodeus0454]

Sir John Gielgud was an actor of genius and there was not a trace of vanity or arrogance in his interviews. He was always honest, down-to-earth, and matter-of-fact when interviewed. Needless to say, he was also greatly articulate.

[@richardwaldron1684]

What a wonderful voice, I could listen to him for hours. Very glad I subscribed to this channel

[@WOMENOFTROY]

He speaks in such detailed elegant sentences. Like passages in a good book.

[@TheJohnnystorm1959]

John Gielgud what a charming man he was and of course a great actor.

[@alanfreedman2500]

To Liza Minnelli in Arthur - “Usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature.”

[@kevinbell3700]

In the tv series Frasier, Miles states that " Roz is easier to get into than community college."

[@steveellis9004]

Arthur : I'm going to take a bath now Hobson. Hobson : I'll alert the media.

[@photo161]

In 1950 alone, Gielgud played three major Shakespeare protagonists in one season. The breadth and depth of knowledge and experience that the great British actors such as Olivier, Richardson, and Gielgud brought to their work was something that was non-existent in the US.acting community, be it for film or the stage.

[@brucekuehn4031]

During this “stay home” time, we have been streaming a lot of British mystery/cop/detective shows. For a rather small island, they certainly have a lot of impressive acting talent even now. It’s probably due to good, solid stage training. In the US, we seem to be smitten by reality and fitness stars rather than celebrating young people who are learning their craft.

[@marknewbold2583]

He also did a season at Hackney Empire, he was a heck of a juggler

[@davidcopson5800]

@@marknewbold2583 That's a well balanced comment.

[@finddeniro]

All of the Old Fun ..Serious and Well Study .. Few great Actors and Actresses ..Most all the Great performances..Are Done..

[@Miakoda-TecumsehFitzner-eq3bk]

My favorite actor.

[@MTMF.london]

High praise indeed from one of the greatest actors of all time to one of the finest American actors.

[@tarakb7606]

Great actor. Great voice.

[@chrisgross5409]

Funny enough, if this was 1971, Brando was almost considered washed up. Many of the previous movies he had been in didn’t do much. The studios all considered him a problem and a nuisance. Then Francis Ford Coppola insisted on casting Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The studios made him audition(Brando wasn’t told that part), and they gave him peanuts for pay. But of course, the film was released and Marlon Brando once again blew everyone away. One of a kind.

[@jtoo6060]

Brando’s masterful performance in The Godfather showed that he was still a powerful actor and far from washed up. Great comeback for Marlon

[@PoppysGuitar]

Not exactly. The Brando deal was this. He was paid a small fee (for a star of his stature) of about $100 or $200K. However he was also given 4 points? but the points only kicked in when the film grossed more than $60 million dollars which, at that time, seemed unlikely given that only "Gone With The Wind" had grossed that amount. $60 million would be the equivalent of $500 million today. So... the story goes that Brando was in the middle of an expensive divorce during the filming and needed a quick $100,000 to settle things with his wife. Brando's agent/lawyer called Paramount Studio president Bob Evans and asked if Brando could sell his "worthless" points back to the studio for an additional $100K. Evans balked at first but the CEO Charles Bludhorn overruled Evans and bought the points back. Brando was thrilled until Godfather went on to become one of the highest grossing films of all time. Brando would have realized something in the nature of over a 5 million dollars which in today's money would be about 30 million dollars. Needless to say Brando blamed his agent and lawyer and fired them.

[@AstralPixie]

Well that was lovely. Thanks for posting.

[@silviaterracciano4513]

Great actors are so deep and yet simple when they speak.

[@jeshkam]

Oh, I absolutely loved him in "Arthur".

[@Hithere-ek4qt]

Certainly far from his best performance - due to the story.

[@philiplewis7252]

Wow,what a remarkable man! Blessings.

[@asalane20]

What an amazing memory this many has--so alive!

[@lucianopavarotti2843]

Great intelligence, sincerity, humility, humour, empathy

[@sharrigarvin3348]

Very kind words about a fellow actor

[@joemarshall4226]

I was lucky enough to study acting and directing in college under the great Tony Award winning director, and creator of the Cherry Lane theatre in NYC, Warren Enters. People who don't study the craft don't realize just how much goes into a great performance. Creating a character with your voice and body, RESEARCHED THOROUGHLY, then melding it into a story written by someone else, with other actors on a stage, lit with great care, wearing costumes designed with the greatest of care, in front of scenery designed for the show....it's magic when it works correctly, but it's oh, so difficult to pull off. It's great to hear Sir John analyze Marlon's performance, and explain what was good and maybe lacking about it. The SHAPE of the scene, and the SHAPE of each speech.....

[@joemarshall4226]

@AMT 67. Did you know of Warren? He used to say that every show was like a mystery story. There was a key moment when the SURPRISE is revealed....and the good director keeps the actors from ever hinting that it's coming in their performances. It has to be surprise, something that makes the audience take a communal gasp...."so THAT'S what is really happening!" Comedy, drama, melodrama....all the same. If you can create that moment...you've GOT them...even if the performers are a little amateurish. Ever hear of the play "Wait Until Dark"? I saw a wonderful college production of it....Boy, they got that moment. A young wife, who is blind has been on the phone most of the show in her apartment. In the end, a killer is comign to get her, so and she figures it out. She shuts down all the light in the apartment, sealing all the cracks, figuring that if the killer comes into a dark apartment, her knowledge of the apartment and her sensitive hearing will give her an edge. The killer enters the apartment and realizes what is going on....he talks to her as he rumages around feeling things to see if he can find her....then he gets to the refrigerator....and silently opens the door....THERE IS A LIGHT IN THE REFRIGERATOR THAT SHE FORGOT TO DARKEN! He can see her crouching with a knife in her hand...he leaves the door open, slowly walks toward her, still talking, pretending he still can't see her...as he approaches and prepares to finish her off, but the refrigerator MOTOR TURNS ON and she hears it! Reaizing what this means, she thrusts forward and stabs the intruder before he can stab her....What a moment!

[@johnricercato740]

If you enjoyed this, you must see another clip from the same show, where Cavett talks to Sir Ralph Richardson. Wonderfully funny. (Gielgud and Richardson were on at the same time.)

[@billthestinker]

Excellent upload thank you very much

[@waldonunez8311]

Maravillosa entrevista.... desde Sudamérica , gracias 🌈🌴🌄

[@myleschilton3473]

Class. Sir John keeps to talking about Brando rather than snidely redirect to himself. A lesson.

[@anthonyteis8570]

Absolute legend

[@nataliedelagrandiere4022]

What a gentleman!

[@richardgornalle4536]

This is one superb show.

[@CalTxDude]

Sir John Gielgud was a decent, classy gentleman!

[@boneyween]

more!! MORE!!!

[@AthelstanEngland]

These fantastic orators, Sir John Gielgud, Peter Ustinov, Noel Coward, Laurence Olivier, Alec Guiness, David Niven, James Stewart... where have all these people gone. We've really lost something these past fifty or sixty years.

[@marknewbold2583]

They're dead

[@finddeniro]

The Long term Careers are Not There..

[@carlosandre1992]

Sir John Gielgud actor legendary 🎭 Theatre 🎭

[@timmo491]

Lovely man.

[@palecap]

Could we please have the full Gielgud segment of this Cavett episode?

[@thomascreeley3627]

It is very interesting to hear his comments about Brando's magnificent forum speech.

[@lrwiersum]

I was just a kid, but I would stay up and watch Dick Cavette, I knew it was something special.

[@kingy002]

The finest interviewer for me.

[@annerood2703]

Geez as well, , learned so much in three minutes. Thanks

[@amcaesar]

Sure, this kind of discourse used to just happen on talk shows. OK. Can I visit this planet?

[@brucekuehn4031]

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

[@Hithere-ek4qt]

Cavett was the best in that regard. We don't get that today because the folks controlling the media do not want educated viewers. Check out George Carlin's rant on the rich controlling the masses, he was right on.

[@amcaesar]

@@Hithere-ek4qt I saw Cavett live in Manhattan three years ago, and he was just as delightful in his 80s as he was in his 40s.

[@Apollo_Blaze]

The planet you are talking about has been gone for a long time...sadly...but I was actually on it for a while.

[@michaelmiller2397]

Now here is a skilled actor talking craft !

[@mLi75]

Thanks!

[@myveryown9165]

What ever , how ever no matter what Marlon Brando was a fantastic actor . I have watched GODFATHER the first time in the 70's and it Christmas Day . I loved his character there . I fell in love with him in that movie . Omg he is amazing

[@SexySkoChick]

I 💖 the Godfather as well! ☺️ Brando was SUCH a HANDSOME man 😳 also he was soo CHARISMATIC in the role! 😏 and he like draws you IN 😍 I LUV the scenes where he's talking and holds the cute kitty on his lap 🐱🤗 AND the wedding scene oh what the heck EVERY scene with him is SHOWSTOPPING! 😱 my favorite ICONIC line he says too is "I'm gonna make him an offer he CAN'T refuse!" 🤩 Marlon was a MAGNETIC POWERHOUSE 😩 AND the BEST Male actor of ALL time!

[@myveryown9165]

@@SexySkoChick completely agree

[@SexySkoChick]

@@myveryown9165 I ESPECIALLY 💖 him in Streetcar 😍🔥😱🥵 I think he was the HAWTEST man in the entire WORLD in that classic 😌😳😏 he was UNBEARABLY sexy! 🥵🔥🥵 I'm convinced there was NO one at the time who could've RESISTED him 😩

[@myveryown9165]

@@SexySkoChick I did not watch that movie . But I think I will try and search on the net for it . I believe you ...hottest man alive.

[@SexySkoChick]

@@myveryown9165 Marlon in A Streetcar Named Desire is a GODSEND REVELATION! 😱😩🥵

[@chrisnatmills7802]

Great actor!

[@dgold6891]

Such a civility here. I miss adult-centric Hollywood :)

[@jackclements2163]

I've recently watched Brando's "Mutiny on the Bounty" and his English accent has a Sir John twang about it.

[@rogerlephoque3704]

Sir, would you like to borrow my hearing aid?

[@davidleedutton]

This is the one question Dick seemed to ask everybody: "What did you think of Brando?"

[@SamJohn52]

in real life Dick was good friends with Brando

[@mjc5509]

I met SIR JOHN several times at my dear friends PETER DE ROME's house in SANDWICH KENT. In 1980's

[@amileoj9043]

Just John Gielgud giving strikingly perceptive and deeply sympathetic notes to an absent Marlo Brando, that's all...

[@jimmybonez8928]

Loved him in Arthur!!!!!

[@andrewnicholas4951]

Ur hearing a master at work via the skill depth and scape of the English language but not to garnish but to translate the spirit of the subject in such a way that the audience gets it totally!

[@MichaelOZimmermannJCDECS]

I subscribe to that! Not the ONLY one, of course...🤓

[@andrewpinner3181]

Sadly missed. A man that knew his craft !

[@garrison6863]

He is exactly correct on this. In the speech to the crowd, which John coached him on, Brando is excellent. In fact, its the best version of that speech I have seen. But in the speech over the body, Heston's is better. Brando didn't find the right cadence and structure on that one. But all in all, I thought Brando did alright for that being his first Shakespeare part.

[@chocho8036]

i don't know about that, i was enthralled by Brando s version, what it may have lacked in technique was made up in his extraordinary style... and when he said the word "havoc" , i had absolute chills, and could feel it in my chest ...people say that the crew burst out in applause, that they were stupefied and that doesn't happen often. Brando is stupefying

[@anshrajsinha8075]

Marlon Brando The Great John Gielgud The Great

[@davidevans3227]

brilliant.. j love it 🙂 x

[@concernedhuman4559]

Brilliant.

[@oza8578]

What a classy gent.

[@jeremypearson6852]

Most actors today can’t hold a candle to actors of the past. They spent years learning their craft before they got major roles.

[@giovannilupino5538]

Gielgud is a gem.

[@ChaimkeProductions]

proper gentlemen

[@belamoure]

Generous exact and to the point a classic mind in a warm envelope.

[@wozzi71]

What a class act ,unlike actors of today

[@kingy002]

Let's not be too general. There are many fine talented actors around today.

[@parkerwhite8289]

Wow!

[@richbuilds_com]

I really miss these slow paced interviews with well spoken, experienced experts in their fields. Sick to death of the modern 'reality show/youtube *stars*' with vapid opinions and nothing of value to say.

[@madahad9]

It's unfortunate that Brando grew to loathe acting and arrived on set without knowing his lines, having them written down on little cards. I think his greatest performance was in Last Tango in Paris. The scene with his wife laid out in wake is incredible. We watch the character of Paul go through a variety of emotions as he tries to understand why his wife committed suicide. Brando stated in an interview that he put a lot of himself in the character, even writing most the dialogue, and said that he'd never do that again. True to his word he never did. The remaining decades he took work mostly for the money. But despite his loathing for the craft he still gave performances that were the highlight of otherwise mediocre films. One in particular is The Missouri Breaks. It is a routine story that is dull and lifeless until he shows up. It is clear that he is having a blast with this very eccentric character. Even the terrible remake of The Island of Dr. Moreau is worth watching for Brando. He was a very complex and contradictory person.

[@tufsoft1]

The scene with his wife laid out he looks upwards because actually he had his lines taped to the ceiling. It is incredible though, and if that's what it takes to get a performance like that, then go for it!

[@madahad9]

I have no problem how he gave his performances. Oftentimes he was the best aspect of an otherwise mediocre film. I especially enjoy his performance in The Missouri Breaks. The film itself is nothing very special and is a rather standard cattle rustling story that even Jack Nicholson cannot bring to life. But wherever Brando is on screen it becomes something altogether different. I'm sure that, with the director's blessing, he reinvented the character to make him the scene-stealing eccentric he is. Even the terrible Island of Dr. Moreau is worth watching for Brando. But I heard that he was a handful to work with. He almost drove Coppola crazy on the set of Apocalypse Now. There was never anyone like Brando. But he was in it for the money in his later years.

[@kamdan2011]

Would love to have seen his reaction to Brando’s reasonings for using cue cards.

[@juanaltredo2974]

Shakespeare is such a monumental author, I speak several languages, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise, but no one and i mean no one, comes close to him, not Moliere, Dante, Goethe, or even less, Cervantes, that playing Shakespeare for American actors against English actors must be the most intimidating thing in the world. Very few actually comprehend the great bard to an extent english actors do, not because of lack of talent but because of lack of education and experience. Its more likely an English actor would've played Shakespeare 10 times before he's 20 than an American actor. As a consequence very few get it right. Brando wasn't bad, he replaced his lack of understanding with his great charisma, but even Pacino, an otherwise very good actor, wasn't great in his shakespeare roles.

[@Joshualbm]

Erudition is vacant from interviewers and interviewees today. It's a shame. It seems the culprit is a wide and deep, perniciously intentional dumbing down. Whether it's music, theater or film, the pursuit of excellence seems all but lost. The art of conversation and allowing a guest to really express themselves is almost non-existent. The hosts of today are always jumping in with rude and stupid gaffs, annoying questions and seek more to sensationalize something insignificant than probe the creative heart and mind of their guests. That's one of the many reasons why I don't watch television.

[@hannahretel1073]

Agreed

[@mikeycapp1]

Wonderfully communicated Joshua, I could not have said it better myself.

[@styxcreek]

A perniciously intentional dumbing down...you summed up it there.

[@mikeycapp1]

Joshua, Truer words have never been spoken.

[@dionisioiacobelli6689]

Alec Guinness is my favorite British actor.

[@somethingyousaid5059]

What if (instead of Brando) Gielgud had played Stanley Kowalski. Try to imagine him in that scene yelling "Stel-laaaa!" lol

[@juanmonge8]

Noel Coward’s first hit play was called “ The Vortex “. The character was emotionally troubled young man. It was supposed to be about alcoholism- but was really about homosexuality- which could not be shown on stage. Sir John made that play a hit. I wish there was a record of it.

[@MartensAD]

Gielgud on Olivier: Larry had the legs. I had the voice.

[@Bootmahoy88]

I don’t presume to suggest this as a general truth, but I think the electricity of conversation has been shorted out in this age of electronic instant communication, as ironic as that may be. I think that thought is correlative to what Sir John suggested was lost when Marlon left the theatre for film. On the stage you experienced the whole arc of the story whereas on a film set you get pieces of scenes that are patched together. You don’t feel or experience the whole thing. It’s very similar to how we communicate with each other these days with all of our gadgets. The beauty and simplicity of conversation as a whole entity has been lost. Here we see that beauty demonstrated by Sir John taking with Dick, and I think it’s a terrible shame that we don’t talk to each other much anymore except through our gadgets. Oh sure, conversation still exists but not so much in the main anymore. Does this make sense?

[@ransomcoates546]

I very much admire John Gielgud and say this without a trace of any ‘phobia’, but given the times I have always wondered how it was possible for him to overcome so completely and finally that incident in the public toilet, which was widely reported. Thank goodness his great career did not suffer, so far as I am aware, at all.

[@kingy002]

The British are forgiving around this issue. George Michael and Hugh Grant spring to mind.

[@marknewbold2583]

It wasn't very widely reported

[@gerardmackay8909]

This is an old comment but I’ve read his diaries and letters cover to cover and that incident (1953 the absolute worst era of entrapment and persecution) devastated and haunted him for years to come. At the time he was a jibbering wreck and was due to appear on stage in Liverpool with the grand old dame, Sybil Thorndike. Liverpool was a no nonsense, gritty city and he was petrified of the reception he would get and was shaking back stage. Dame Sybil saw his distress and took him firmly by the hand saying ‘Come on John let’s walk on together, they won’t boo me’ As it happened, as soon as he stepped on stage, the audience rose and the cheering was thunderous. John was adored far more than he realised and the tears streamed down his face.

[@kaivrock]

Man, does this guy know acting or what?