MARLON BRANDO
The method acting and raw sexuality he brought to his early films was a new thing. Some of his lines have entered the lexicon: “I coulda been a contender”; “make him an offer he can’t refuse”.  He was nominated for Best Actor seven times, and won twice. In 1993 he refused the award for The Godfather (1992) and sent a woman in his place to read a diatribe against the treatment of Native Americans. His personal life was a mess, including the trial of a son for murder and the suicide of a daughter. Marlon Brando, dead at 80,  was in many ways larger than life.
Brando burst onto the screen and into the American psyche as the brutish Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a role he had played for two years on Broadway and which he grew to genuinely loath. But it made him a star forever! Over 60 years later this is still a powerful film, and Brando is unforgettable.
Marlon Brando played Marc Antony in Julius Caesar (1953), one of the best film adaptations of Shakespeare. James Mason, Sir John Gielgud, Edmond O’Brien, Greer Garson and Deborah Kerr comprise a stellar cast in this excellent production. 
As Terry Malloy, a washed up boxer, Brando won his first Oscar for the superb On The Waterfront (1954). With Lee J. Cobb, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Steiger also putting in great performances, this wonderful film won and deserved eight Oscars. Brando’s conversation in the car with his brother is absolutely breathtaking, the stuff that cinematic dreams are made of. 
The Godfather (1972) may or may not be an accurate picture of organized crime, but it defines the Mafia for most Americans, and Marlon Brando won his second Oscar by defining for all time what we think of as the Don. His creepy, raspy portrayal digs into your soul. This film and its sequels are American film legends. . 
Marlon Brando also appears in the roughly erotic Last Tango in Paris (1973); as the title character in the excellent Viva Zapata! (1952); miscast as Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls (1955); and as, of all things, an oriental servant in the dreadful Sayonara (1957). 
I saved the best Brando quote for last: In The Wild One (1954) Brando’s totally rebellious character is asked what he is rebelling against. His famous answer: “Whattaya got?”
All of the films in this column are available on DVD.  All are for adults.