Before Marlon Brando, most movie actors performed in a style that looked stiff and exaggerated by today's standards. They spoke clearly and loudly. They made big gestures with their hands. Everything was polished and perfect -- but it did not look like real life. Brando, born April 3, 1924, brought something entirely new to the screen. He mumbled. He paused in the middle of sentences. He scratched his face, looked away from other actors, and moved in ways that seemed unplanned. Critics were shocked. Some thought he was being lazy. Others realized he was doing something revolutionary: he was acting the way real people actually behave. Brando studied a method called "Method acting." Instead of memorizing lines, he tried to feel the real emotions of his character. If his character was angry, Brando found real anger inside himself. If his character was sad, Brando genuinely felt sadness. This technique made his performances feel raw and honest. His role in the 1951 film "A Streetcar Named Desire" stunned audiences. His character, Stanley Kowalski, was rough and unpredictable. Audiences had never seen anything like it. Later, in "The Godfather" (1972), Brando played a quiet, powerful mob boss. He stuffed cotton in his cheeks to change his voice. He also made up many of his lines on the spot. The performance won him an Academy Award. Nearly every serious actor working today points to Brando as the person who showed them what acting could be.