Premise: Marlon Brando , Jr. ( April 3 , 1924 -- July 1 , 2004 ) was an American actor , film director and political activist . Brando is widely known for his Academy Award-winning performances as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront ( 1954 ) and Vito Corleone in The Godfather ( 1972 ) , as well as his performances in A Streetcar Named Desire ( 1951 ) , Viva Zapata ! After this , he was content with being a highly paid character actor in cameo roles , such as in Superman ( 1978 ) and The Formula ( 1980 ) , before taking a nine-year break from motion pictures . He was one of only three professional actors , along with Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe , named in 1999 by Time magazine as one of its 100 Most Important People of the Century .
Hypothesis: Marlon Brando is not an actor.
Label: CONTRADICTION