20 Things You Somehow Missed In Apocalypse Now

By the time Marlon Brando made Apocalypse Now, he had already been nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning twice (although he refused the second in protest of Hollywood's racist depiction of minorities), and was already considered one of the most influential actors of his generation. He had been around the block, and used his decades of experience working with film studios to sign a ludicrous contact with Coppola's company to star as Walter Kurtz. He would work only Monday to Friday, never past 5:30 in the evening, and he would be paid a million dollars a week for his services. Also, he held up production for weeks because he didn't want to work while his kids were on vacation from school.

Despite the numerous concessions Coppola made to him, Brando didn't offer much in return. He had put on a lot of weight acting in The Godfather films, but promised to shed the weight to play the Green Beret Kurtz. He didn't shed the weight, but instead showed up at his heaviest ever, totally inappropriate for the role. He hadn't read Heart of Darkness either, and so had no understanding of the character he was there to play.