Marlon Brando: Feet in the Fire

Interview with Marlon Brando

Conducted by James Grissom

1990

Tennessee was right about a person not knowing if they're pretty or talented until someone recognizes this fact and shares it with you, shares it with others. What we do--if we're artists--is communicative, and until we bond with someone, until we manage to attract attention and elicit emotion, we're just firing away in the dark, with no direction. A good teacher will recognize your qualities and get you to amplify them, deepen them. I always wanted my feet in the fire and my mind wide open, and I wanted people--everyone--to keep putting things in my mind so that I had more to consume and digest and then share.

This is true for everyone.

I think it's called being alive.

© 2014 James Grissom