Cary Elwes Confirms What We Suspected All Along About Marlon Brando's On-Set Behavior

Of course, most actors don't spring to stardom out of the gate, as they begin their careers toiling on sets, either as bit players, background artists, or production assistants. The latter was the case for a then-unknown actor in the late 1970s named Cary Elwes, who finally broke into the mainstream in 1987 with his classic role as the male lead opposite another relative newcomer, Robin Wright, in the classic romantic comedy adventure "The Princess Bride."

One of Elwes' early jobs on the other side of the camera put him in the orbit of greatness as he worked as an assistant under director Richard Donner on 1978's "Superman." While the film starred Christopher Reeve in the titular role, there were several other established, if not iconic actors who made up the cast, including two-time Oscar winner Marlon Brando. But with such legendary status comes the demands of the people working with stars like Brando, who was known for doing things his way during his film productions.

Among the more notable instances, Brando famously read from cue cards to bring Don Vito Corleone to life in legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" (via Time); and he reportedly failed to learn his lines or prepped for his role as Colonel Kurtz in Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (via The Independent). Not surprisingly, Brando was also a bit difficult on the set of "Superman," where he played a pivotal supporting role as Kal-El's father, Jor-El.

However, Elwes, who was a young assistant to Donner on the film, figured out a resourceful way to get Brando to cooperate with the production.