Marlon Brando Made More From Superman Than the Man Who Played Superman

In 1978, nobody believed a superhero movie could work. To change that, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind made a bet: hire the most famous actor alive, give him a contract almost no studio would sign, and let him do whatever he wanted on set.

The Deal That Launched a Franchise

Marlon Brando signed on to play Jor-El, Superman's Kryptonian father, for a salary of $3.7 million plus 11.75% of the film's gross box office profits. He was required to work for just 12 days. When Superman finished its global theatrical run, producer Ilya Salkind calculated Brando had earned roughly $19 million from the deal.

By comparison, Christopher Reeve - who carried the film in the lead role through every single scene - earned $250,000. That is a more than 75-to-1 pay gap between the actor on the poster and the actor who showed up for two weeks.

The No-Script Clause

Brando's contract included a clause almost unheard of in Hollywood: he was not required to read the script beforehand. He honored it fully. On the Krypton set, cue cards were placed throughout his eyeline so he could read his dialogue without memorizing a word. During scenes where Brando held the infant Kal-El, some of his lines were written directly on the baby's diaper.

The Green Bagel Proposal

Before agreeing to appear on camera at all, Brando reportedly proposed to director Richard Donner that he could play Jor-El as a green bagel - or possibly a suitcase - with his voice dubbed over. Donner declined and persuaded him to appear as a human. The resulting white-robed Jor-El became one of the most recognizable images in superhero cinema history.

The Lawsuit That Changed Superman II

Just days before Superman opened in theaters in December 1978, Brando filed a $50 million lawsuit against the Salkinds and Warner Bros., claiming he had been cheated out of his rightful share of profits. The dispute had a direct consequence: his footage was cut from the theatrical version of Superman II. His scenes as Jor-El only appeared decades later in the Richard Donner Cut, which restored the original version of the sequel.