Sophia Loren Dishes on Her Best and Worst Costars: Marlon Brando, Clark Gable and More

When Marlon Brando got too handsy on the set of 1967’s A Countess From Hong Kong, Sophia Loren put him in his place. “I turned in all tranquility and blew in his face, like a cat stroked the wrong way, and said, ‘Don’t you ever dare to do that again. Never again!’ ” she recalled in her memoir, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: My Life. “He never did it again, but it was very difficult working with him after that.”

A Shining Star

The Italian actress arrived in Hollywood in 1957 and soon found herself working opposite a who’s who of stars. “For me, Hollywood was a fairy tale,” she told The Los Angeles Times.

She liked Clark Gable, who shared the screen with her in 1960’s It Started in Naples, but Sophia was perplexed when he left the set promptly at 5 o’clock every day — even if they were in the middle of a scene! “We were flabbergasted,” Sophia told the L.A. Times, “but it was in his contract.”

She was charmed by Gregory Peck, her costar in 1966’s Arabesque. “People don’t know how very funny he was,” she once gushed to The Wrap. Sofia also felt grateful to John Wayne. “My English was not great. The crew would sometimes make fun of me, but John Wayne always would stick up for me,” she said of her Legend of the Lost costar.