Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen Steiger (April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely associated with the art of method acting, embodying the characters he played, which at times led to clashes with directors and co-stars. He starred as Marlon Brando's mobster brother Charley in On the Waterfront (1954), the title character Sol Nazerman in The Pawnbroker (1964), and as police chief Bill Gillespie opposite Sidney Poitier in the film In the Heat of the Night (1967) which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
You can find people similar to Rod Steiger by visiting our lists Deaths from pneumonia in California and Male actors of Scottish descent.
| Full name at birth | Rodney Stephen Steiger
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| Claim to fame | In The Heat Of The Night (1967).
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| Date of birth | 14 April 1925
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| Place of birth | Westhampton, Long Island, New York, USA
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| Date of death | 9 July 2002
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| Age | 77 (age at death)
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| Place of death | Los Angeles, California, United States
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| Cause of death | Pneumonia And Kidney Failure
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| Occupation | Actor
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PERSONAL DETAILS
| Height | 5' 10" (178 cm)
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ADDITIONAL DETAILS
| Net worth | $8,000,000 USD
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| University | The Actor's Studio (acting school)
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- Won the part of Viktor Komarovsky in Doctor Zhivago (1965) only after two other actors turned the part down. After a month went by with Marlon Brando failing to respond to director David Lean's written inquiry into whether he wanted to play Komarovsky, Lean offered the part to James Mason, who was a generation older than Brando, because he did not want an actor who would overpower the character of Yuri Zhivago (specifically, to show Zhivago up as a lover of Lara, who would be played by the young Julie Christie, which the charismatic Brando might have done, shifting the sympathy of the audience). Mason initially accepted thee part, but eventually dropped out and Steiger was given the role.
- Campaigned vigorously for a role in The Godfather (1972), which began shooting in early 1971, three years after Steiger had reached the top of his craft, receiving the Academy Award for Best Actor his role as the sheriff in In the Heat of the Night (1967). Surprisingly, the role Steiger wanted was not the title role of Don Vito Corleone (eventually played by his On the Waterfront (1954) co-star Marlon Brando, but the role of Michael Corleone, the Don's youngest son. Paramount executives found his desire to be bizarre as he was much too old for the part and turned him down without even a screen-test.
- 4/39/04: Is listed as the Centre of the Hollywood Universe by the University of Virginia's Oracle of Kevin Bacon. He can be linked to any other movie actor in the classic Kevin Bacon-game style in an average of 2.651 steps.
- Most of the solo shots of Steiger during the famous taxicab scene in On the Waterfront (1954) were done after Marlon Brando had left for the day. Brando had it in his contract that he could finish shooting before the normal quitting time so that he could make his daily session with his psychiatrist. Steiger was deeply hurt and annoyed at Brando's rudeness and lack of courtesy to a fellow actor, as it was customary, in a two-shot, for an actor in close-up to be fed his lines by the other actor or for the other actor to just be there so the first actor would have him him or her to play to. Steiger used his negative emotions to enhance his performance, and though he paid tribute to Brando as a great actor, he personally loathed him thereafter. Director Elia Kazan stood in for Brando in the back of the cab so Steiger would have someone to emote to.
- Steiger, who originated the role of "Marty" in the eponymous TV production Marty (1953) (TV), said that he turned down the role in the 1955 movie production as the Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions contract would have bound him for years. Harold Hecht and Burt Lancaster, on their part, said that they did not want to cast Steiger as they felt the public would not go for the same actor that they had seen for free on TV.
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