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Robert Mario DeNiro Jr., whose stage character is spelled as Robert De Niro (born August 17, 1943), is a highly acclaimed, two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor, director, and producer.
He is noted for his portrayal of conflicted, troubled characters, and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese, and early work with director Brian De Palma. He is considered by many to be the greatest actor of his generation and one of the world's greatest living actors.
He is the son of the noted painter Robert De Niro, Sr.
Early life
De Niro was born in New York City, to father Robert De Niro, Sr., an abstract expressionist painter and sculptor, and mother Virginia Admiral. De Niro's Italian great-grandparents, Mario and Sofia Di Niro, had emigrated from Ferrazzano, in the province of Campobasso, Molise in the early 20th century. His parents, who had met at the painting classes of Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Massachusetts, divorced when he was two years old. De Niro grew up in the Hell's Kitchen area of New York City. His childhood nickname was Bobby Milk due to his pale complexion. De Niro is in fact only one quarter Italian.
Education
De Niro first attended the Little Red School House and was then enrolled by his mother at the High School of Music and Art in New York. He dropped out at the age of 13 and joined a Little Italy street gang. He then had a falling-out with his father, though they were eventually reconciled when, at 18, he flew to Paris to bring home his father, who had been suffering from depression.
De Niro attended the Stella Adler Conservatory, as well as Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio (though De Niro conflicted with Strasberg's methods, and used his membership there mostly as a professional advantage). At the age of 16 he toured in Chekhov's The Bear.
Early film career
At the age of 20, in 1963, came De Niro's first film role and collaboration with Brian De Palma, when he appeared in The Wedding Party; it was not released until 1969, however. He spent much of the 1960s working in theater workshops and off-Broadway productions. He was an extra in the French film Three Rooms in Manhattan (1965), and made his film debut after he reunited with De Palma in Greetings (1968) and again in Hi, Mom (1970).
He gained popular attention with his role as a dying Major League baseball player in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973). The same year he began his fruitful collaboration with Scorsese when he played his memorable role as the smalltime Mafia hood "Johnny Boy" alongside Harvey Keitel's "Charlie" in Mean Streets. This led to a very successful relationship between the pair in films such as Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991) and Casino (1995).
In these films, De Niro has primarily played charming sociopaths. Taxi Driver is particularly important to De Niro's career; his iconic performance as Travis Bickle shot him to stardom and forever linked De Niro's name with Bickle's famous "You talkin' to me?" monologue, which De Niro himself improvised.
In 1974, De Niro took part in Francis Coppola's The Godfather Part II and played young Don Vito Corleone. His performance earned him his first Academy Award of Best Supporting Actor.
In 1976 De Niro appeared, along with Gerard Depardieu, in Bernardo Bertolucci's epic biographical exploration of life during World War II, Novecento (1900), seen through the eyes of two Italian childhood friends at the opposite sides of society's hierarchy.
In 1978, De Niro played "Michael Vronsky" in the acclaimed Vietnam War film The Deer Hunter.
He was offered role of Cowboy in director Walter Hill's The Warriors (1979) but turned it down. The role went instead to Tom McKitterick.
Later film career
Praised for his commitment to roles (stemming from his background in Method acting), De Niro gained 60 pounds (27 kg) and learned how to box for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, ground his teeth for Cape Fear, lived in Sicily for The Godfather Part II, and learned to play the saxophone for New York, New York. He also put on weight and shaved his hairline to play Al Capone in The Untouchables.
Fearing he had become typecast in mob roles — another of which was Jewish gangster David "Noodles" Aaronson in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America (1984) — De Niro from the mid-1980s began expanding into occasional comedic roles, and has had much success there as well with such films as Brazil (1985), in which he had a small role; the hit action-comedy Midnight Run (1988); and the film-and-sequel pairs Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002), and Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004).
Other films include Falling in Love (1984), The Mission (1986), The Untouchables (1987), Heat (1995), Wag the Dog (1997) and Ronin (1998).
De Niro is considered a skilled observer of physical and trivial details, from the way a cigarette is held by a mobster in GoodFellas to the kind of shirt-jacket the character needed to wear in Raging Bull. In 1995 De Niro starred in Michael Mann's Heat, along with fellow actor Al Pacino. The duo drew much attention from fans as both have generally been compared throughout their careers. Though both Pacino and De Niro starred in The Godfather Part II, they shared no screen time.
De Niro had to turn down a role in The Departed (as the Jack Nicholson role) due to commitments preparing The Good Shepherd. He said "I wanted to. I wish I could've been able to, but I was preparing The Good Shepherd so much that I couldn't take the time to. I was trying to figure a way to do it while I was preparing. It just didn't seem possible."
In De Niro's next project, he directed and co-starred in The Good Shepherd (2006), also starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. The movie also reunited him onscreen with Joe Pesci, with whom De Niro had starred in Raging Bull, GoodFellas and Casino.
On June 7, 2006, it was announced that De Niro donated his film archive, including scripts, costumes and props, to the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.
De Niro has said that he is working with Martin Scorsese on a new project. "I'm trying to actually work..Eric Roth (screenwriter) and myself and Marty are working on a script now, trying to get it done."
Awards and honors
De Niro has won two Academy Awards: Best Actor for his role in Raging Bull; and Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather Part II.
De Niro and Marlon Brando are the only actors who won Academy Awards for portraying the same character: Brando won for playing the elderly Don Vito Corleone (though he declined the award) in The Godfather while De Niro later won the award for playing the young Vito in The Godfather Part II. Brando and De Niro did not work together on screen until The Score (2001). De Niro actually auditioned for the role of Sonny in the first Godfather but the role was given to James Caan. When The Godfather Part II was in preproduction, the director, Francis Ford Coppola, remembered De Niro's audition, and cast him to play the young Vito Corleone. De Niro's performance is one of only four to win an Academy Award for working in a foreign language, as he primarily spoke Italian, with very few phrases in English ("I didn't come here to fight with you" and "I make him an offer he can't refuse").
Personal life
De Niro has been married twice. He has a stepdaughter, Drena and son Raphael with first wife Dianne Abbott, as well as twin sons Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick (conceived by in vitro fertilization) from a long-term live-in relationship with former model Toukie Smith. Raphael, a former actor, now works in New York real estate. .
Since 1989, De Niro has been investing in the TriBeCa neighborhood in lower Manhattan. His capital ventures have included co-founding the film studio TriBeCa Productions, the hugely popular TriBeCa Film Festival, and the TriBeCa Grill, Nobu, and Layla restaurants that usually need advance reservations.
In February 1998, during a film shoot in France, he was hauled for nine hours by French police and questioned by a magistrate, over a prostitution ring. De Niro denied any involvement saying that he had never paid for sex, "and even if I had, it wouldn't have been a crime". The magistrate wanted to speak to him after his name was mentioned by one of the call girls. In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, he said, "I will never return to France. I will advise my friends against going to France", and he would "send your Legion of Honour back to the ambassador, as soon as possible". French judicial sources say that the actor is regarded as a potential witness, not a suspect. In 2003, Robert De Niro, with film director Woody Allen, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and writer George Plimpton joined a pro-French tourism campaign as a direct response to anti-French sentiment in the US related to the Iraq invasion.
In 2004, De Niro re-married his second wife, Grace Hightower, a former flight attendant, at their estate near Marbletown in upstate New York. De Niro's has residences are on the east and west sides of Manhattan. Their son Elliot was born in 1998 and the couple filed for divorce shortly after his birth, although the action was never officially finalized.
De Niro, whose paternal great-grandparents emigrated from Ferrazzano, in the region of Molise, Italy, was due to be bestowed with honorary Italian citizenship at the Venice Film Festival in September 2004. However, the Sons of Italy lodged a protest with Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, claiming De Niro had damaged the image of Italians and Italian-Americans by frequently portraying them in criminal roles. Culture Minister Giuliano Urbani dismissed the objections and the ceremony was rescheduled to go forward in Rome in October. Controversy flared again when De Niro failed to show for two media appearances in Italy that month, which De Niro blamed on "serious communication problems" that weren't "handled properly" on his end, and stating, "The last thing I would want to do is offend anyone. I love Italy." The citizenship was conferred to De Niro on October 21, 2006, during the Rome Film Festival finale.
During a People Magazine interview, actor/comedian Jerry Lewis claimed that he was "going for Bobby's throat" after De Niro directed a slew of anti-Semitic epithets against Lewis. Despite the almost exact wording to Mel Gibson's remarks from 2006, De Niro has escaped the kind of controversy suffered by Gibson.
Complete Filmography
Date Film Role Notes
November 10, 1965 Three Rooms in Manhattan Client at the diner Uncredited
December 15, 1968 Greetings Jon Rubin
1969 Sam's Song Sam Nicoletti
April 9, 1969 The Wedding Party Cecil
March 24, 1970 Bloody Mama Lloyd Barker
April 27, 1970 Hi, Mom! Jon Rubin
November 10, 1971 Jennifer on My Mind Mardigian
December 1, 1971 Born to Win Danny
December 22, 1971 The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight Mario Trantino
August 26, 1973 Bang the Drum Slowly Bruce Pearson
October 2, 1973 Mean Streets John 'Johnny Boy' Civello
December 12, 1974 The Godfather: Part II Vito Corleone
February 8, 1976 Taxi Driver Travis Bickle
August 15, 1976 1900 Alfredo Berlinghieri
November 15, 1976 The Last Tycoon Monroe Stahr
June 21, 1977 New York, New York Jimmy Doyle
December 8, 1978 The Deer Hunter Michael Vronsky
November 14, 1980 Raging Bull Jake La Motta
October 2, 1981 True Confessions Des Spellacy
February 18, 1983 The King of Comedy Rupert Pupkin
February 17, 1984 Once Upon a Time in America David 'Noodles' Aaronson
November 21, 1984 Falling in Love Frank Raftis
February 20, 1985 Brazil Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle
September 29, 1986 The Mission Rodrigo Mendoza
March 6, 1987 Angel Heart Louis Cypher
June 3, 1987 The Untouchables Al Capone
July 20, 1988 Midnight Run Jack Walsh
March 10, 1989 Jacknife Joseph 'Jacknife' Megessey
December 15, 1989 We're No Angels Ned
February 9, 1990 Stanley and Iris Stanley Everett Cox
September 12, 1990 Goodfellas Jimmy Conway
December 20, 1990 Awakenings Leonard Lowe
March 15, 1991 Guilty by Suspicion David Merrill
May 24, 1991 Backdraft Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale
November 13, 1991 Cape Fear Max Cady
April 29, 1992 Mistress Evan M. Wright
October 16, 1992 Night and the City Harry Fabian
January 1, 1993 A Bronx Tale Lorenzo Anello Director
March 5, 1993 Mad Dog and Glory Wayne 'Mad Dog' Dobie
April 9, 1993 This Boy's Life Dwight Hansen
November 4, 1994 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein The Creature
November 22, 1995 Casino Sam 'Ace' Rothstein
December 15, 1995 Heat Neil McCauley
1995 A Hundred and One Nights
August 16, 1996 The Fan Gil Renard
October 18, 1996 Sleepers Father Bobby
December 18, 1996 Marvin's Room Dr. Wally
August 15, 1997 Cop Land Lt. Moe Tilden
December 25, 1997 Jackie Brown Louis Gara
December 25, 1997 Wag the Dog Conrad Brean
January 30, 1998 Great Expectations Arthur Lustig
September 12, 1998 Ronin Sam
March 5, 1999 Analyze This Paul Vitti
November 24, 1999 Flawless Walt Koontz
June 24, 2000 The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle Fearless Leader
September 14, 2000 Men of Honor Chief Leslie W. 'Billy' Sunday
October 6, 2000 Meet the Parents Jack Byrnes
March 1, 2001 15 Minutes Detective Eddie Flemming
July 9, 2001 The Score Nick Wells
March 11, 2002 Showtime Det. Mitch Preston
September 6, 2002 City by the Sea Vincent LaMarca
December 6, 2002 Analyze That Paul Vitti
April 30, 2004 Godsend Richard Wells
September 10, 2004 Shark Tale Don Lino Voice
December 16, 2004 Meet the Fockers Jack Byrnes
December 22, 2004 The Bridge of San Luis Rey Archbishop of Peru
January 27, 2005 Hide and Seek David Callaway
November 23, 2005 Rent Producer
2006 The Good Shepherd Bill Sullivan Director
2007 Stardust Captain Shakespeare Filming
The Winter of Frankie Machine Frankie Machine Announced
What Just Happened? Announced
2008 Little Fockers Jack Byrnes Pre-production
Academy Awards and Nominations
* 1974 — Won - Best Actor in a Supporting Role; The Godfather, Part II
* 1976 — Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role; Taxi Driver
* 1978 — Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Deer Hunter
* 1980 — Won - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Raging Bull
* 1990 — Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Awakenings
* 1991 — Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Cape Fear
| Latest news about Robert De Niro |
Robert De Niro's children Google him | The SkinnyRobert De Niro's children Google him. The 66-year-old actor raises five children, and although they are not interested in hearing about his movie career they do scour the internet for gossip about him. "My kids aren't too impressed with ... Continue reading
Cele|bitchy » Blog Archive » Robert DeNiro: I'll give advice, but ...Robert DeNiro is a notoriously difficult man to interview. He got the reputation through years of giving grunts and shrugs to reporters, for refusing to divulge or participate in even the most basic of publicity tours. ... Continue reading
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