Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor, film director and activist. He was widely credited with bringing realism to film acting. He helped to popularize the Stanislavski system of acting, studying with Stella Adler in the 1940s. 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! (1952), Julius Caesar (1953), The Wild One (1953), Guys and Dolls (1955), Sayonara (1957), Last Tango in Paris (1972), and Apocalypse Now (1979). Brando was also an activist for many causes, notably the Civil Rights Movement and various Native American movements.