Actor Marlon Brando turned down the Best Actor Oscar on March 27, 1973 for his career-reviving performance in The Godfather. Actor Marlon Brando was absent from the ceremony due to his protests against Hollywood’s representation of Native Americans in movies, according to activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who took his place.
Why did Brando refuse the Oscar?
Brando received his first Oscar nomination for his depiction of the obnoxious Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he is now regarded by many as the best actor of his generation (1951).
The part was a reprise of Brando’s explosive performance in the Tennessee Williams play’s 1947 stage adaptation, which originally caught the public’s eye. He was nominated for parts in Julius Caesar (1953) and Viva Zapata! (1952) and received his first Academy Award for On the Waterfront (1954).
Brando made the decision to skip the ceremony and send Littlefeather in his place the night before the 1972 Oscars.
Roger Moore, the presenter and a frequent James Bond actor, attempted to offer the Oscar to Littlefeather after Brando’s name was called as the Best Actor, but she turned it down and said that Brando could not take it. Littlefeather recited a passage from a long statement Brando had written; The New York Times and other media outlets later published the complete message.
Brando claimed that “the motion picture community has been as culpable as any” for demeaning the Indian and making fun of his persona by portraying him as wild, angry, and evil.
