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Part of what made Thanos such a formidable villain in the MCU was Josh Brolin’s performance as The Mad Titan. The actor performed the role in a motion-capture suit, lending the villain a sense of gravitas. For Brolin, playing a CGI character for a comic book film presented a unique challenge from an acting standpoint. How did Marvel Studios want to introduce their first Big Bad? With pomp and circumstance or with a more brooding and psychological vibe?

As it turns out, Brolin revealed at his spotlight panel at New York Comic Con 2024 that he was able to lock into playing Thanos by channeling Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now. “I remember coming in and doing [the scene] for the first time in front of like fifty computers, before we started [Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame]. And I had this kind of Richard Burton thing in my head, not actually Richard Burton, but it was much more formalized. Like, ‘THANOS.’ And the Russos were like, ‘No.’ So we started to talk what that would be like, ‘Just sit like this.’ And then that changed everything. The fact that it wasn’t this presentation… just normalizing the whole thing. And then we would go and watch it… and then I’d start talking about Brando in Apocalypse Now. And [the Russos] would go ‘YEAH. Do that!’ And we would start improvising back and forth.” 

Marlon Brando’s career is full of iconic performances, but his performance as Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now is one of his most haunting. The appeared almost unrecognizable in the film, due to his makeup and dramatic lighting. Despite the film’s turbulent production process for Brando, his performance has undeniably left a mark on cinema history.

And now, seemingly, two marks. 

Popverse is providing wall-to-wall coverage of New York Comic Con 2024, with an all-star crew of writers, editors, and video producers there all four days (and nights). You can follow along to this coverage right here. Or perhaps you're just looking to livestream the biggest panels as they happen; we've got you covered right here!