Robert De Niro
“The actor who vanished so completely into his roles that the man behind them disappeared.”
Robert De Niro broke through in 1973 with Martin Scorsese's 'Mean Streets,' then won the 1974 Best Supporting Actor Oscar as young Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather Part II.' His intense, immersive method made him the defining American screen actor of the 1970s and beyond.
A New York Original
Born to artist parents in Greenwich Village, De Niro trained with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. His early collaborations with director Brian De Palma led to his career-defining partnership with Martin Scorsese.
Master of Transformation
Famed for his total immersion, De Niro learned boxing, gained weight, drove a real cab and mastered accents to inhabit his roles. Performances in 'Taxi Driver,' 'Raging Bull' and 'The Deer Hunter' set a new standard for screen acting.
Mogul and Icon
Beyond two Academy Awards, De Niro built a second career as a producer and entrepreneur, co-founding the Tribeca Film Festival. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, he remains an enduring symbol of American cinema.
Career Timeline
- 1943Born Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. in New York City
- 1973Breakthrough in Scorsese's 'Mean Streets'
- 1974Wins Supporting Oscar for 'The Godfather Part II'
- 1976Iconic Travis Bickle in 'Taxi Driver'
- 1978Stars in Vietnam epic 'The Deer Hunter'
- 1980Wins Best Actor Oscar for 'Raging Bull'
- 1990Plays mobster in Scorsese's 'Goodfellas'
- 1995Stars in epic crime drama 'Casino'
- 2002Co-founds the Tribeca Film Festival
- 2016Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom
- 2019Reunites with Scorsese for 'The Irishman'
Biggest Hits
- For 'Raging Bull,' De Niro gained roughly 60 pounds to play the aging Jake LaMotta, an extreme transformation that helped win him a second Oscar.
- He co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002 partly to help revitalize Lower Manhattan after the September 11 attacks.
The Moment You Remember
Alone before a mirror as Travis Bickle, he squares off against his own reflection and mutters the challenge, "You talkin' to me?" The improvised moment captured a lonely man's drift toward violence and became one of the most quoted scenes in American film.
Portrait: Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons