Stanley Kowalski

Stanley Kowalski
Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski from the stage version of A Streetcar Named Desire (1948).
First appearance	A Streetcar Named Desire
Created by	Tennessee Williams
Portrayed by	Marlon Brando Bonar Colleano Jack Palance Ralph Meeker Anthony Quinn James Farentino Aidan Quinn Treat Williams Alec Baldwin Blair Underwood Michael Arata John C. Reilly Stephon O'Neal Pettway Joel Edgerton Ricardo Antonio Chavira Rod Gilfry Teddy Tahu Rhodes August Costello Ned Flanders
Information
Gender	Male
Spouse(s)	Stella Kowalski
Children	a son
Relatives	Blanche DuBois (sister-in-law)

Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire.

Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella (born as Dubois), and is employed as a factory parts salesman. He was an Army engineer in World War II, having served as a Master Sergeant. He has a vicious temper, and fights often with his wife, leading to instances of domestic violence. Near the beginning of the play, Stanley announces that Stella is pregnant.

Stanley's life becomes more complicated when Stella's sister Blanche shows up at their door for a seemingly indefinite "visit". He resents the Blanche, who derides him as an "ape", and often calls him a Polack. His resentment intensifies when Blanche starts dating his friend, Mitch, and lets Stella briefly take refuge with her after an argument in which he hits her.

Stanley starts asking questions of a street merchant who knew Blanche in her old life, and finds out that Blanche is staying with the Kowalskis because she is homeless; her family's ancestral mansion, Belle Reve, has been mortgaged. He also learns that she was paid to leave Mississippi to quell gossip about her many affairs, which she began after her husband, a closeted homosexual, committed suicide. Overjoyed to have the upper hand, Stanley tells Mitch about Blanche's past, which scares Mitch into ending the relationship.