"I mean, you work and you try and find the work that suits you the best and you enjoy the most."
Consummate badass actor Harvey Keitel (born May 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York City), has been acting in films since 1967. He also played Gene Hunt in the American version of Life On Mars; much like Philip Glenister in the British original, he was the best thing on the show. A former United States Marine, he is frequently revered as one of cinema's greatest actors for badass roles that nevertheless require emotional range, possibly equaling Robert De Niro despite his lack of awards.
As of March 2023, he is the best center of the Hollywood universe. No, not Kevin Bacon (Bacon is in the top 600).
Harvey Keitel's film roles include:
- J.R. in Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)
- Charlie in Mean Streets (1973)
- Ben in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
- Coleman Buckmaster in That's the Way of the World (1975)
- Jerry Bartowski in Blue Collar (1976)
- Sport in Taxi Driver (1976)
- Speed in Mother, Jugs, & Speed (1976)
- Feraud in The Duellists (1977)
- Benson in Saturn 3 (1980)
- Inspector Netusil in Bad Timing (1980)
- Roddy in Death Watch (1980)
- Thomas Paine in That Night in Varennes (1982)
- Mr. Legend in Nemo (1984)
- Judas in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
- Commissioner Frank Starkey in The January Man (1989)
- Jake Berman in The Two Jakes (1990)
- Hal in Thelma & Louise (1991)
- Mickey Cohen in Bugsy (1991)
- Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs (1992)
- Vince LaRocca in Sister Act (1992)
- The Lieutenant in Bad Lieutenant (1992)
- Victor the Cleaner in Point of No Return (1993)
- George Baines in The Piano (1993)
- Lt. Graham in Rising Sun (1993)
- Winston Wolfe in Pulp Fiction (1994), a role that he reprised for a series of Direct Line ads in the U.K.
- Auggie Wren in Smoke (1995)
- Jacob Fuller in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
- Roy Egan in City of Industry (1997)
- Ray Donlan in Cop Land (1997)
- Harry Houdini in FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
- Chief Gunner Klough in U-571 (2000)
- Satan in Little Nicky (2000)
- SS-Oberscharführer Eric Muhsfeldt in The Grey Zone (2001)
- Jack Crawford in Red Dragon (2002)
- Sadusky in National Treasure (2004) and sequel National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2007)
- Nick Carr in Be Cool (2005)
- Miro in Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
- OSS Commander in Inglourious Basterds (2009)note
- Randy Weir in Little Fockers (2010)
- Commander Pierce in Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
- Al in The Congress (2013)
- Ludwig in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- "Smiley" Harris in The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
- Gondo in Isle of Dogs (2018)
- Angelo Bruno in The Irishman (2019)
Television Roles
- German Soldier in Hogan's Heroes (1966, Uncredited Role)
- Ernie in The F.B.I. (1974)
- Host in Saturday Night Live (1993)
- Gene Hunt in Life on Mars (2008)
- Sadusky in National Treasure: Edge of History (2022)
Tropes Associated With Keitel
- Anti-Hero: Even when his characters are likable or sympathetic, they're still unscrupulous to varying degrees.
- Adam Westing: Kinda. He plays his character Winston Wolfe from Pulp Fiction in a number of adverts for Direct Line Insurance in the UK. The basic premise is Winston Wolfe coming to the aid of some beleaguered Briton with a home or car insurance problem, initially intimidating them with his Mafioso type swagger and then amicably reassuring them that Direct Line with handle their problems.
- Big Applesauce: His mannerisms and accent make him a good fit for most films set in New York.
- Brooklyn Rage: Born and raised there, he has the natural chops to convey this aspect of most of his characters.
- Cool Old Guy: His roles later in his career, frequently in tandem with Retired Badass or Old Soldier.
- Dawson Casting: An interesting case in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The film has his character (who is roughly 27 years old) attempting to seduce the titular character (who is 35) with some difficulty, as the latter is worried about the age gap. Harvey Keitel, though, was roughly 35 at the time of filming. Despite this, the film is still able to pull off the age disparity, since Ellen Burstyn was actually 42 when she played Alice.
- Fake Italian-American: Despite being Jewish, he's played several Italian-American and full Italian characters throughout his career.
- Irony: He's Jewish, but plays a ruthless SS NCO in The Grey Zone.
- Male Frontal Nudity: One of the most memorable aspects of The Piano. Also did it in Mean Streets and Bad Lieutenant.
- Parental Substitute: Quentin Tarantino has said on multiple occasions that Keitel is like a father to him.
- Production Posse: With directors Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Abel Ferrara, and Quentin Tarantino, and also with actors Robert De Niro, Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, and Tim Roth.
- Rated M for Manly: Invariably playing tough guys on screen, he was also a US Marine and veteran of the 1958 Lebanon Crisis (he was 19 at the time) in Real Life.
- Semper Fi: He served in the United States Marine Corps before he started acting.
- Smoky Voice: Bolsters his ability to play tough guys.
- Typecast: As criminals, Slimeballs,
smooth crooks, or members of The Mafia. - What Could Have Been:
- Keitel was originally cast as Willard in Apocalypse Now, but after the first week of shooting, Francis Ford Coppola felt he wasn't right for the role, fired him and had him replaced by Martin Sheen.
- He was also fired from Eyes Wide Shut early in filming.
