Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro 3 by David Shankbone.jpg
De Niro at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
Born Robert Mario De Niro, Jr.
August 17, 1943 (1943-08-17) (age 66)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Years active 1965–present
Spouse(s) Diahnne Abbott (1976–1988)
Grace Hightower (1997–)

Robert Mario "Bob" De Niro, Jr. (born August 17, 1943) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor, director and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors of his time.[1][2][3]

De Niro is noted for his method acting and portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters - as well as gangsters - and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese. He is best-known for his roles as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II; cabbie Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver; boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull; mobster Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas; casino owner Sam Rothstein in Casino; Al Capone in The Untouchables; revenge seeking ex-con Max Cady in "Cape Fear"; Noodles in Once Upon a Time in America; Michael Vronsky in The Deer Hunter and more recently as Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents.

Contents

Early life

De Niro was born in New York City, the son of Virginia Admiral, a painter, and Robert De Niro, Sr., an abstract expressionist painter and sculptor.[4] De Niro's father was of Italian and Irish descent, and his mother was a Presbyterian-raised atheist of German, French, and Dutch descent.[5][6] His Italian great-grandparents, Giovanni De Niro and Angelina Mercurio, emigrated from Ferrazzano, in the province of Campobasso, Molise,[7] and his paternal grandmother, Helen O'Reilly, was the granddaughter of Edward O'Reilly, an emigrant from Ireland.[8] De Niro has said that he identifies more with his Italian parts than his other ones.

De Niro's 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 Little Italy area of Manhattan.

De Niro first attended the Little Red School House and was then enrolled by his mother at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art in New York, a division of which (officially named The School of Performing Arts: A Division of the Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and the Arts) was attended by fellow Godfather II actor Al Pacino. He dropped out at the age of 13 and joined a Little Italy street gang. De Niro attended the Stella Adler Conservatory as well as Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio, and used his membership there mostly as a professional advantage.

Early film career

De Niro's first film role and collaboration with Brian De Palma materialized in 1963 at the age of 20, when he appeared in The Wedding Party; however, the film was not released until 1969. 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 official film debut after he reunited with De Palma in Greetings (1968). He later reprised his Greetings role 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 a memorable role as the smalltime hood "Johnny Boy" alongside Harvey Keitel's "Charlie" in Mean Streets (1973). In 1974, De Niro played a pivotal role in Francis Coppola's The Godfather, Part II, playing young Don Vito Corleone, having previously auditioned for the roles of Sonny Corleone, Michael Corleone, Carlo Rizzi and Paulie Gatto in the first film. His performance earned him his first Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actor. He became the first actor to win an Academy Award speaking mainly a foreign language, in this case, multiple Sicilian dialects (although he delivered a few lines in negligible English).

After working with Scorsese in Mean Streets, he had a very successful working relationship with the director 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). They also acted together in Guilty by Suspicion and provided their voices for the animated feature Shark Tale.

In many of his films, De Niro has 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 improvised. In 1976, De Niro appeared (along with Gérard Depardieu and Donald Sutherland) 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, for which he was nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role. He was offered the role of "Cowboy" in director Walter Hill's The Warriors (1979), but turned it down.

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; worked as a cab driver for three months for Taxi Driver; 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.

De Niro's brand of method acting includes employing whatever extreme tactic he feels is necessary to elicit the best performance from those he is acting with. During the filming of The King of Comedy, for example, he directed a slew of anti-Semitic epithets at costar Jerry Lewis in order to enhance and authenticate the anger demonstrated by his onscreen character. According to People magazine, the technique was successful. Lewis recalled, "I forgot the cameras were there... I was going for Bobby's throat."[9]

Fearing he had become typecast in mob roles, De Niro began expanding into occasional comedic roles in the mid-1980s 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), Showtime (2002), opposite Eddie Murphy; the film-and-sequel pairs Analyze This (1999) & Analyze That (2002), both opposite actor/comedian Billy Crystal, Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004).

Other films include Falling in Love (1984), The Mission (1986), Angel Heart (1987), Awakenings (1990), opposite Robin Williams, where De Niro plays a catatonic patient brought to life by medication, Heat (1995), The Fan (1996), opposite Wesley Snipes, where De Niro plays an obsessive psychotic baseball fanatic, Wag the Dog (1997), and Ronin (1998). In 1997, he reteamed with Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta along with Sylvester Stallone in the crime drama Cop Land. De Niro played a supporting role, taking a back seat to Stallone, Keitel, and Liotta.

De Niro in 1988.

In 1993 he also starred in This Boy's Life, featuring then-rising child actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire.

In 1995, De Niro starred in Michael Mann's police action-thriller 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 and Pacino once again appeared in a film together, as police investigators hunting a serial killer in the crime thriller Righteous Kill.[10]

In 2004, De Niro provided the voice of Don Lino, the antagonist in the animated film Shark Tale, opposite Will Smith. This was De Niro's first experience with voice acting. When interviewed about his role in Shark Tale, De Niro said that participating in an animated cartoon was one of the funniest aspects of his Hollywood career. He also reprised his role as Jack Byrnes in Meet the Fockersand [Stardust]. all films were very successful at the box office but received mixed reviews.

De Niro had to turn down a role in The Departed (Martin Sheen taking the role instead) due to commitments with 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."[11]

He directed The Good Shepherd (2006), and costarred with Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. The movie also reunited him onscreen with Joe Pesci, with whom De Niro had starred in Raging Bull, Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, Once Upon A Time In America" and Casino.

In June 2006, it was announced that De Niro had 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... [screenwriter] Eric Roth and myself and Marty are working on a script now, trying to get it done."[11]

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 came together onscreen for the only time in The Score (2001). De Niro actually auditioned for the role of Sonny in the first Godfather,[12] 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 is one of only five people to win an Academy Award for working in a foreign language, as he almost exclusively spoke Italian, with very few phrases in English.

De Niro is acting in the role of a mobster in Paramount Pictures' upcoming movie, Frankie Machine. He announced that he would appear in Martin Campbell's film version of the classic BBC crime series Edge of Darkness in 2009 alongside Mel Gibson, however, just after he arrived to begin shooting, DeNiro walked from the set due to creative differences.[13] He was then replaced by Ray Winstone.[14]

Robert De Niro in 1998.

Directorial efforts

In 1993, De Niro made his directorial debut with A Bronx Tale. The film, written by Chazz Palminteri, was about Palminteri's turbulent childhood in the Bronx. De Niro agreed to direct the film after seeing Palminteri's one-man off-Broadway play. De Niro also played Lorenzo, the bus driver who struggles to keep his son away from local mobster Sonny, played by Palminteri.

De Niro hadn't directed another film until 2006's The Good Shepherd, which starred Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. The Good Shepherd depicts the origins of the CIA, with Damon portraying one of the top counter-intelligence agents during World War II and the Cold War. De Niro has a small role as General Bill Sullivan, who recruits Damon's character into the world of counter-intelligence.

Recent projects

"CBS has made a deal with Tribeca Prods. to develop three pilots that will be executive produced by Tribeca partners Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. The deal gives Tribeca a guarantee that one of the three projects will be produced as a series pilot. The first project, to be produced in partnership by Media Rights Capital, is an hourlong pilot that will be written by William Monahan, the Oscar-winning writer of ``The Departed who will make his first foray into TV with an untitled drama set in New York.

Monahan, who recently scripted ``Body of Lies and ``Edge of Darkness, is writing the pilot targeted for the Eye's fall 2009 sked. Rosenthal wouldn't reveal the subject matter.

Tribeca continues to develop Little Fockers and The Undomestic Goddess for Universal Pictures, and Frankie Machine at Paramount, with Michael Mann attached to direct and De Niro to star.[15]

Personal life

De Niro with his wife Grace Hightower at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Since 1989, De Niro has been investing in the TriBeCa neighborhood in lower Manhattan. His capital ventures have included cofounding the film studio TriBeCa Productions; the popular TriBeCa Film Festival; Nobu (the now-defunct Layla restaurants that usually needed advance reservations) and TriBeCa Grill, which he co-owns with Paul Wallace and Broadway producer Stewart F. Lane.[16] and finally The Greenwich Hotel.[17]

In 1997, De Niro married his second wife, Grace Hightower (a former flight attendant), at their estate near Marbletown in upstate New York (De Niro also has residences 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 as they smoothed over their differences.

In addition to Elliot, De Niro has a son, Raphael,[18] with first wife Diahnne Abbott. He also adopted Abbott's daughter (from a previous relationship), Drena. In addition, he has 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. De Niro lives in New York City and has never lived full time in Los Angeles.

In February 1998, during a film shoot in France, he was taken in for questioning by French police for nine hours and was then 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."[19] 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, De Niro was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The prognosis for De Niro (who was 60 at the time) was good, according to his publicist, Stan Rosenfield. "Doctors say the condition was detected at an early stage because of regular checkups," Rosenfield says. "Because of the early detection and his excellent physical condition, doctors project a full recovery." Rosenfield declined to give further details about the actor's condition or course of treatment. De Niro's father, painter Robert De Niro, Sr. died of cancer in 1993 at age 71. He also left behind his two god children, Lauren and Nicholas Martino. After the death of his father De Niro took the responsibility of being the "unofficial godfather".

De Niro 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, stating, "The last thing I would want to do is offend anyone. I love Italy." The citizenship was conferred on De Niro on October 21, 2006, during the finale of the Rome Film Festival.

De Niro is a supporter of the Democratic Party, and vocally supported Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. Filmmaker Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 includes a clip of De Niro standing next to Gore at a rally; Moore identifies him as "that Taxi Driver guy." De Niro publicly supported John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. In 1998, he lobbied Congress against impeaching President Bill Clinton.[20] De Niro also narrated 9/11, a documentary about the September 11, 2001 attacks, shown on CBS and centering on video footage made by Jules and Gedeon Naudet that focused on the role of firefighters following the attacks. While promoting his movie The Good Shepherd with costar Matt Damon on the December 8, 2006 episode of Hardball with Chris Matthews at George Mason University, De Niro was asked whom he would like to see as President of the United States. De Niro responded, "Well, I think of two people: Hillary Clinton and Obama." On February 4, 2008, De Niro supported Obama at a rally at the Izod Center in New Jersey before Super Tuesday.[21]

Filmography

For more details on this topic, see Robert De Niro filmography.

Awards and nominations

For more details on this topic, see List of Robert De Niro awards.

Academy Award

BAFTA Award

Golden Globe Award

References

  1. ↑ Robert De Niro
  2. ↑ De Niro voted greatest star
  3. ↑ 100 Greatest Movie Stars: Channel 4 Film
  4. ↑ "Robert De Niro Biography (1943-)". filmreference.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2007.
  5. ↑ "De Niro defends Italian-American roles". MSNBC. Retrieved on August 20, 2007.
  6. ↑ "The religion of Robert De Niro, actor". adherents.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Famous people from Molise". deliciousitaly.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2007.
  8. ↑ "De Niro's part-Irish Ancestors". Genealogy. Retrieved on July 08, 2008.
  9. ↑ "People Magazine". docs.google.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2007.
  10. ↑ "De Niro, Pacino reunite for 'Kill'". variety.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-20.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Graham, Jamie (2007-03). "The Total Film Interview". Total Film (125): 105. 
  12. ↑ The Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990 documentary)
  13. ↑ Michael Fleming (2008-09-04). "De Niro exits 'Edge of Darkness'", Variety. Retrieved on 2008-09-04. 
  14. ↑ Michael Fleming (2008-09-12). "Winstone replaces De Niro in 'Edge'", Variety. Retrieved on 2008-09-12. 
  15. ↑ http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117994013.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
  16. ↑ New York Times De Niro Is Trying Life Behind the Camera, By William H. Honan, August 23, 1989
  17. ↑ http://www.thegreenwichhotel.com/
  18. ↑ New York Real Estate - Prudential Douglas Elliman
  19. ↑ "De Niro furious over French grilling". BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
  20. ↑ "Scepticism and support swirl around Clinton". BBC News. Retrieved on August 20, 2007.
  21. ↑ "De Niro, Damon: Spies, patriotism and politics". MSNBC. Retrieved on August 20, 2007.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
John Houseman
for The Paper Chase		 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1974
for The Godfather, Part II		 Succeeded by
George Burns
for The Sunshine Boys
Preceded by
Dustin Hoffman
for Kramer vs. Kramer		 Academy Award for Best Actor
1980
for Raging Bull		 Succeeded by
Henry Fonda
for On Golden Pond
Preceded by
Tom Hanks		 AFI Life Achievement Award
2003		 Succeeded by
Meryl Streep
Academy Award for Best Actor

Maximilian Schell (1961) · Gregory Peck (1962) · Sidney Poitier (1963) · Rex Harrison (1964) · Lee Marvin (1965) · Paul Scofield (1966) · Rod Steiger (1967) · Cliff Robertson (1968) · John Wayne (1969) · George C. Scott (1970) · Gene Hackman (1971) · Marlon Brando (1972) · Jack Lemmon (1973) · Art Carney (1974) · Jack Nicholson (1975) · Peter Finch (1976) · Richard Dreyfuss (1977) · Jon Voight (1978) · Dustin Hoffman (1979) · Robert De Niro (1980)

 · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

George Chakiris (1961) · Ed Begley (1962) · Melvyn Douglas (1963) · Peter Ustinov (1964) · Martin Balsam (1965) · Walter Matthau (1966) · George Kennedy (1967) · Jack Albertson (1968) · Gig Young (1969) John Mills (1970) · Ben Johnson (1971) · Joel Grey (1972) · John Houseman (1973) · Robert De Niro (1974) · George Burns (1975) · Jason Robards (1976) · Jason Robards (1977) · Christopher Walken (1978) · Melvyn Douglas (1979) · Timothy Hutton (1980)

 ·  · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
Films directed by Robert De Niro

A Bronx Tale (1993) · The Good Shepherd (2006)
Persondata
NAME DeNiro, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES DeNiro Jr., Robert Mario (realname)
SHORT DESCRIPTION American actor, director
DATE OF BIRTH August 17, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH