"Don't try it, you fucker. You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?"
—Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. (born August 17, 1943) is an American actor often regarded as one of the greatest actors in film history.
He has appeared in a lot of gangster/cop flicks and is often compared to Al Pacino. De Niro's most memorable roles include a young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, and Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull.
Under Martin Scorsese's direction, he was one of the first actors to really take Dyeing for Your Art to the next level and considered to be the heir of Marlon Brando in the honor roll of Method Acting and a major inspiration for actors in the generations that have followed, including Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio among many others.
Tends to enjoy his privacy, and being asked about his family on interviews is his personal Berserk Button. In recent years, he has become known for playing a number of parts in comedies.
Notable for:
- Bloody Mama (1970) - Lloyd Barker
- The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971) - Mario Trantino
- Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) - Bruce Pearson
- Mean Streets (1973) - Johnny Boy
- The Godfather Part II (1974) - Vito Corleone
- He won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for that role, which is the first role for which two different actors have won acting Oscars, with Marlon Brando having won for the first movie. note
- 1900 (1976) - Alfredo Berlinghieri
- Taxi Driver (1976) - Travis Bickle
- New York, New York (1977) - Jimmy Doyle
- The Deer Hunter (1978) - Michael Vronsky
- Raging Bull (1980) - Jake LaMotta
- True Confessions (1981) - Desmond
- The King of Comedy (1983) - Rupert Pupkin
- Once Upon a Time in America (1985) - David "Noodles" Aaroson
- Brazil (1985) - Harry Tuttle
- The Mission (1986) - Rodrigo Mendoza
- The Untouchables (1987) - Al Capone
- Angel Heart (1987) - Louis Cyphre/Satan
- Midnight Run (1988) - Jack Walsh
- Awakenings (1990) - Leonard Lowe
- Goodfellas (1990) - Jimmy Conway
- Cape Fear (1991) - Max Cady
- A Bronx Tale (1993) - Lorenzo Anello, also his directorial debut
- This Boy's Life (1993) - Dwight Hansen
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) - The Creature
- Casino (1995) - Sam "Ace" Rothstein
- Heat (1995) - Neil McCauley
- The Fan (1996) - Gilbert "Gil" Renard
- Sleepers (1996) - Father Bobby Carillo
- Wag the Dog (1997) - Conrad "Connie" Brean
- Jackie Brown (1997) - Louis
- Ronin (1998) - Sam
- Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002) - Paul Vitti
- The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle - Fearless Leader
- Meet the Parents (2000), Meet The Fockers (2004), and Little Fockers (2010) - Jack Byrnes
- The Score (2001) - Nick Wells
- 15 Minutes (2001) - Eddie Flemming
- Shark Tale (2004) - Don Lino
- Godsend (2004) - Dr. Richard Wells
- Hide and Seek (2005) - David Callaway
- The Good Shepherd (2006) - Bill Sullivan (also director)
- Stardust (2007) - Captain Shakespeare
- Righteous Kill (2008) - Turk
- What Just Happened (2008) - Ben
- Everybody's Fine (2009) - Frank Goode
- Machete (2010) - Senator McLaughlin
- Stone (2010) - Jack Mabry
- Limitless (2011) - Carl Van Loon
- Red Lights (2012) - Simon Silver
- Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - Pat Solitano, Sr.
- Malavita (2013) - Fred Blake
- Grudge Match (2013) - Billy "The Kid" McDonnen
- The Intern (2015) - Ben Whittaker
- Joy (2015) - Rudy Mangano
- Heist (2015) - Francis "The Pope" Silva
- The Wizard of Lies (2017) - Bernie Madoff
- Joker (2019) - Murray Franklin
- The Irishman (2019) - Frank Sheeran
- Amsterdam (2022) (2022) - Gil Dillenbeck
You tropin' to me??
- Adam Westing: Both Analyze This (and sequel) and Shark Tale have him lampooning his old mobster roles. Also in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, where Fearless Leader asks "You talkin' to me"?
- Affably Evil: When they aren't outright Jerkasses, his villainous characters are this, and will even extend into The Chessmaster territory, like with Louie Cyphre. This sometimes becomes Faux Affably Evil, like with Jimmy Conway.
- Ax-Crazy: He has a penchant for these types of characters, particularly Max Cady, Rupert Pupkin, and Travis Bickle.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: Some of his characters, particularly Travis Bickle and Vito Corleone, are reserved and calm, traits that bely their sudden and unflinching outbreaks of violence. Also a trait that seems to apply to De Niro in Real Life.
- Big Applesauce: As demonstrated by many of his films. He's even created the Tribeca Festival in the eponymous neighborhood.
- Character Tic:
- A half-grin that shows up as either a Psychotic Smirk, a smug smile, or to lull others into a false sense of security while his character is secretly fuming.
- Verbal Tic: His characters have a tendency to repeat themselves, particularly when asserting an unanswered question.
- Chronically Killed Actor: At least 15 by 2010
, with a few more ever since - granted, its less than a fifth of his huge filmography, but a large number nonetheless. - Cluster F-Bomb: A trademark of his.
- Cold Ham: While he sometimes indulges in Large Ham, particularly in comedy, De Niro is able to express a lot without having to raise his voice.
- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: Sometimes played straight, but often times Deconstructed, Downplayed, Subverted, even Zig-Zagged, etc. (especially in his pure dramatic roles).
- Descent Into Madness: Many of his characters become gradually unhinged over the course of their films, (some of them weren't all there to begin with).
- Doing It for the Art: Was willing to forgo much more lucrative offers to play the lead in Taxi Driver (he was paid 30,000- much lower than he could have commanded), agreed to play a supporting role in Brazil just to work with Terry Gilliam, and continued to work with Scorsese, even as he spiraled further into cocaine addiction.
- Dyeing for Your Art: De Niro, as a method actor, actually changed his body for roles. An example is Jake La Motta - where he was both a lean, mean boxer and the same guy later, fatter and verging on the obese. No fat suits for De Niro. For his role as Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, he lived in Sicily for four months; for Taxi Driver, he became, well, a taxi driver. He practically redefined how much of yourself an actor could - should - put into their role.
- Evil Is Hammy: Many of his villainous roles have him overacting as much as possible.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Whether it's loud and hammy or Tranquil Fury, his characters are easily prone to rage.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He's been friends and a frequent collaborator of Martin Scorsese since the early 70s. Scorsese called him closer than a brother in an interview.
- I Was Quite a Looker:
- Jake La Motta begins Raging Bull as an extremely fit boxer and ends as an obese middle-aged man.
- De Niro himself has aged quite well into a Silver Fox, but he was a full-blown Pretty Boy in the '70s and a good chunk of the '80s.
- Jerkass: Infamous for playing these types of characters.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: On occasion.
- Leslie Nielsen Syndrome: His first few comedic roles, such as Jack Walsh in Midnight Run, were initially viewed as Playing Against Type, but they make up the bulk of his work post-90s.
- The Mentor: Served as one to Leonardo DiCaprio, who he hand-picked to star with him in This Boy's Life and recommended to Martin Scorsese, as a pick for a lead in his film. This led to a collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio that mirrored De Niro's earlier partnership with Scorsese.
- Method Acting: Was a pioneer of this style and arguably the most influential method actor after Brando. Some examples of his dedication to his roles include learning how to drive a taxi for Taxi Driver, playing a real saxophone in New York, New York, becoming a professional boxer so he could portray Jake better in Raging Bull, and stalking his own stalkers, much like his crazy character in The King of Comedy.
- The Mafia: Is well-known for playing roles that fit within this particular group.
- Money, Dear Boy: Has admitted that his presence in the Meet the Parents sequels was mostly due to this. His latter career being filled with appearances in lower-tier films is because he owes millions in taxes and spousal support to his estranged wife.
- Motor Mouth: Generally not, but present in some films, like Angel Heart. Notably, he was trying to mimic long-time friend Martin Scorsese's mannerisms in his portrayal of the devil in that film.
- New Hollywood: Is a well-known icon from this era, which occurred during the 70s and late 60s.
- The One Who Made It Out: A theme in some of his works, like A Bronx Tale. Also applies to him in real life. In his younger years, he was part of a street gang. Many of those kids died or lived their lives in poverty.
- Playing Against Type: Though he has sometimes fallen prey to Typecasting, he has also frequently taken on roles you wouldn't expect. From being Meryl Streep's straightforward love interest in Falling in Love to a nerdy comedian in The King of Comedy to a proto-Woody Allen figure in Brian De Palma's Hi Mom.
- Production Posse: De Niro's most famous collaborator is Martin Scorsese. Other people he has regularly worked with include directors David O. Russell, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, Michael Caton-Jones, Harold Ramis, Jay Roach, and Luc Besson; screenwriters Paul Schrader, Nicholas Pileggi, David Mamet, Kenneth Lonergan, Peter Tolan, Jim Herzfeld, and John Hamburg; and actors Joe Pesci, Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Chazz Palmintieri, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, John Cazale, and Frank Vincent.
- Star-Making Role: Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, which won him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
- Those Two Actors: De Niro and Joe Pesci have become a recognizable duo in four different Scorsese films. They have also costarred in several others, two of which De Niro also directed.
- Those Two Guys: Both De Niro and director-pal Martin Scorsese are often a double-act in their appearances.
- Typecasting: His early career was marked by roles as tough gangsters, criminals, or anti-heroes. Now, when he isn't Adam Westing, he most-commonly plays angry dads or grandpas, though he may sometimes take up a role that harkens back to his early career (such as Joker, which was heavily influenced by Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The King of Comedy, and his gangster film reunion with Scorsese, Pacino and Pesci in The Irishman).
