John Huston’s Singular Admiration: The Actor He Called a Genius
Legendary director John Huston singled out Marlon Brando as the only actor he ever called a genius, citing Brando’s raw intensity and unforgettable screen presence. Huston reflected on their turbulent collaborations and Brando’s lasting impact on cinema.
For more than forty years, John Huston stood as one of Hollywood ’s most dynamic and unpredictable filmmakers. He approached each new project as if he were pulling a different genre from a magician’s hat—one moment crafting a western, the next a musical, then a sports drama or a dark comedy. With such a wide-ranging talent, it ’s no wonder that every major star wanted to work with him. Huston even guided his own father, Walter Huston, to an Academy Award for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and decades later, he did the same for his daughter, Anjelica Huston, in Prizzi’s Honor. His films featured a constellation of stars—Jack Nicholson, Jeff Bridges, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Carol Burnett—each bringing their own brilliance to his sets. Yet, in Huston’s eyes, one name outshone them all.
One Name Above the Rest
In a 1986 interview with Playboy, Huston was asked to name the people he considered true geniuses in their fields. Alongside literary giants like Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner, and artists such as Henry Moore and Mark Rothko, he mentioned only one actor: Marlon Brando.
“Brando was something else entirely,”
Huston said.
“Brando had an explosive thing; you felt something smoldering, dangerous, about to ignite at times. Did you see Julius Caesar? Christ! I will never forget that; it was like a furnace door opening—the heat came off the screen. I don’t know another actor who could do that.”
Working With Brando: A Wild Ride
Huston had the chance to direct Brando in the surreal, feverish drama Reflections in a Golden Eye. Watching Brando up close, Huston saw what so many fans and critics struggled to put into words. Brando was unpredictable, sometimes unreliable, but always a force of pure emotion. Whatever he felt on screen, he truly felt in his heart. His performances could be among the greatest ever seen, but he also took on roles that were strange, even unsettling.
Ironically, whenever Huston and Brando teamed up, chaos seemed to follow. Reflections in a Golden Eye topped the box office, but critics were lukewarm. Much of the buzz centered on the film ’s bold sexual themes, which were far more explicit than most movies of that era. The story’s author, Carson McCullers, passed away just two weeks after the film’s release —a fact that added a strange footnote to the movie’s legacy.
Brando’s Enduring Legacy
There was also Candy, a risqué comedy where both Brando and Huston appeared as actors. The film was so poorly received that it nearly derailed Brando’s career. Even decades after his passing—and long after his prime —Brando remains a polarizing figure. Whether or not you agree with Huston’s assessment, it’s impossible to deny Brando’s power as a cultural icon.