Supposedly, this beloved actor was an off-screen monster on the set of this wild sci-fi cult film

It's no secret that 1996 The island of Dr. Moreau had an incredibly difficult production. The shoot was so incredibly hard that a documentary, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau, was created in 2014 and details what went wrong. Whether you blame the production or believe the script was doomed from the start, most critics agree The end result is a messy, ridiculous film That doesn't stand up to any test. Although the documentary explains that there was significant interference from management, much of the bad press surrounding the film was blamed on the actors – in particular Val Kilmer And Marlon Brando.

But even between these two, much of the blame was placed on Kilmer, whose collaboration was reportedly a nightmare due to personal issues in his own life. However, Brando also suffered from stress in his personal life and was, by all accounts, almost as difficult as Kilmer. The difference is that Brando's portrayal of the titular Dr. Moreau is characterized by strange character quirks, but Kilmer has a high energy that ultimately borders on manic, and he seems to be the only one who knows how ridiculous the film is and behaves accordingly. He may have been a jerk on set, but his performance is the most entertaining part of the whole mess.

Why was “The Island of Dr. Moreau” such a critical failure?

Douglas, played by actor David Thewlis, looks horrified while Aissa, played by actor Fairuza Balk, holds his hand, in — Image via New Line Cinema

Even if The island of Dr. MoreauThere wasn't much chaos behind the scenes, but on screen it doesn't necessarily hold up as a great film. The film based on HG WellsThe novel of the same name tells the story of Prendick (Douglas in the film), who comes across an island under the rule of a vivisection scientist named Dr. Moreau stands. Moreau uses the island as a retreat from the rest of the British scientific community – and its laws – to create animal-human hybrids. It's an absolute sci-fi classic, but the 1996 film doesn't do the concept justice. Even with Stan Winston At the top of the makeup and creature effects, the beastmen weren't convincing enough to seem as terrifying as they needed to be. And the structure of the film is also a big problem, especially the end. With countless explosions and intense action sequences, it seems at odds with the quieter, more characterful first two acts.

The film also diverts too often, such as when the focus is on one of Dr. Moreau's creations lies, Majai, who is essentially Moreau's Mini-Me. Majai doesn't speak, but he plays a piano duet with Moreau (apparently at Brando's request, loudly) for no real reason Lost soul). As for Brando himself, Roger Ebert called later The island of Dr. Moreau “Perhaps his worst film.” And it wasn't just Brando who took critical hits; Val Kilmer also received criticism not only for his performance as Moreau's assistant Montgomery, but also for his behavior on set. There's no way to know if Richard Stanleythe original director who was eventually replaced by John Frankenheimerhad a better vision for the film, but as it is, Frankenheimer's version was definitely held back the incredibly tense and delayed production.

Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando brought personal problems to the set of The Island of Dr. Moreau”

Dr. Moreau, played by actor Marlon Brando, in “The Island of Dr. Moreau” a white ceremonial robe with matching face paint and sunglasses — Image via New Line Cinema

There were many setbacks during production The island of Dr. Moreaubut it's the antics of two of the three leads that attract the most press. Although Val Kilmer never went into too much detail about what happened on set, many others have spoken out. Kilmer reportedly wanted to reprise his original role as Douglas, but he ended up playing the lead David Thewlisbe reduced by 40%. This led to Stanley He gave Kilmer the role of assistant to Dr. MoreauMontgomery, causing further delays. According to the Lost souls In the documentary (which can be streamed on Tubi), Kilmer arrived two days late to filming and behaved aggressively towards the crew.

Kilmer also reportedly clashed with Marlon Brando He was also very difficult to work with at times, despite the negative focus on Kilmer. Screenwriter Ron Hutchinson called Brando “his idol,” but claims that during production the actor “seemed determined to sabotage the film.” Brando allegedly refused to leave his trailer Both Brando and Kilmer stopped filming for long periods of time because neither wanted to get out of their trailer before the other. Brando also refused to learn his lines and instead used an earpiece through which an assistant could read his dialogue to him.

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But some of these outbreaks could have been caused by Struggles in Kilmer and Brando's personal lives. Just one day before filming began, Marlon Brando's daughter Cheyenne took her own life; Of course, the tragic loss is said to have contributed to his strange behavior. Kilmer's behavior could also have been caused by personal problems; He didn't just get divorced Joanne Whalleybut he told Elle Magazine in 2006 that he found out about the divorce after watching the news on CNN. Kilmer actually thanked Marlon Brando for his empathy during this time in a 2017 Reddit AMA: “Brando was everything you would want from the great icon in your world, a genius and a gentleman. I was getting divorced at the time, and he was the one.” I was grateful for the time and thoughtful consideration.

Val Kilmer has the most fun with his role in The Island of Dr. Moreau”

Val Kilmer as Montgomery impersonates Dr. Moreau in a white outfit "The island of Dr. Moreau" (1996) — Image via New Line Cinema

Kilmer said in his 2021 memoir I'm your Huckleberry that Frankenheimer in particular blamed him for how bad the film ended up being. But as Kilmer points out, “My character dies in the middle, and the second half of the movie is just as shitty as the first.” And he's not far off; The entire film feels like a mess from start to finish. And while Brando certainly makes some bold wardrobe and character choices in the film, his performance is generally lackluster and the choices themselves are more confusing than exciting. Kilmer, on the other hand, plays along with Montgomery's descent into madness an incredible joy that is really fun.

Montgomery cheerfully admits to using drugs just moments after meeting Douglas by David Thewlis, and generally seems more relaxed than any other character – especially when he wears a sarong and puts a flower behind his ear. Then, shortly before his death, Montgomery loses touch with reality and imitates Dr. Moreau investigates what promotes hedonism and rebellion among the island's human-animal hybrids. Not only is he dressed like Moreau — complete with the stark white makeup Brando chose for his character — but he also does a replica of his voice. Or rather, Kilmer adopts the stereotypical Marlon Brando accent from films like The Godfatherwhich sounds nothing like Brando as Moreau. There's more than a hint of hostility to the impression, but at the same time it's so ridiculous it pushes the scene into cheesy, “so bad it’s good” territory.

Even though they both had personal problemsneither Val Kilmer nor Marlon Brando's alleged behavior during The island of Dr. Moreau should be tolerated. Kilmer apparently received more pushback for his role in the production than Brando, perhaps because Brando was such an intimidating legend. But between the two of them, regardless of how they behaved behind the scenes, Kilmer offers a livelier and therefore more entertaining performance.