The greatest 1940s actor of all time, according to John Cazale: “He knew what it was all about”John Cazale was just 42 years old when he died, yet he left behind a filmography quite unlike anyone else’s in Hollywood. It’s not a surprise, then, that Coppola penned a role just for Cazale when writing his 1974 film The Conversation. Across his limited time in front of the camera, however, Cazale worked with many iconic stars, including Marlon Brando, whom he’d long considered one of his favourite stars. Cazale was a huge fan of Montgomery Clift, considering him to be an even greater actor than Brando, as well as more influential, at least to him. They were both great stars, but to Cazale, Clift would always take the cake.