Vito Andolini Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and in Francis Ford Coppola's film series based on the novel, where he was portrayed by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and, as a young man, by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II.Premiere Magazine listed Vito Corleone as the greatest film character in history. He was also selected as the 10th greatest film character by Empire.