Robert De Niro

The actor who brought Scorsese's most intense characters to life, from Travis Bickle to Jake LaMotta.

Robert De Niro is an American actor who has made ten feature films and one short film with director Martin Scorsese since 1973. Many of their collaborations are often ranked among the greatest films of all time. De Niro was introduced to Scorsese by Brian De Palma, who had known De Niro for several years. De Niro's first film role with De Palma was in 1963's The Wedding Party, though it was not released until 1969. He and De Palma reunited for the 1968 film Greetings, which was De Niro's official film debut. Their first collaboration, Mean Streets (1973), was a success and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1997. De Niro won an Oscar for his role in Raging Bull (1980), and the film has been considered one of the greatest films of all time, chosen as the best sports film ever by the American Film Institute.

Lore & Background

De Niro and Scorsese's partnership began with Mean Streets in 1973, a gangster film about a small-time gangster living in Little Italy. The film was a success and was later selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In Taxi Driver (1976), De Niro's character Travis Bickle spoke the line "You talkin' to me?", which has become one of the most famous lines in film history. Scorsese makes a credited cameo in that film as a passenger.

For New York, New York (1977), a musical-drama, De Niro starred alongside Liza Minnelli. The film was a box-office failure, grossing only $13 million against a $14 million budget. In Raging Bull (1980), De Niro played emotionally self-destructive boxer Jake LaMotta, winning an Oscar for his role. The film received six other Oscar nominations and was named the best sports film ever by the American Film Institute.

In The King of Comedy (1982), De Niro played aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin, who stalks a late night talk show host. The film won a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for four other BAFTAs, including Best Actor for De Niro. Goodfellas (1990) starred De Niro alongside Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci, following Henry Hill through the mob. It won five BAFTAs and was named the greatest film of all time by British magazine Total Film in 2005.

In Cape Fear (1991), De Niro played a convicted rapist who stalks the family of his defense lawyer. Casino (1995) reunited De Niro, Scorsese, and Pesci, revolving around greed and murder in a gambling empire. The Audition (2015) was a short film that served as a promotional piece for casinos, uniting De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time under Scorsese's direction. The Irishman (2019) starred De Niro as Frank Sheeran, a labor union leader and alleged hitman, alongside Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) was confirmed to star De Niro alongside DiCaprio in summer 2019, with shooting beginning in April 2021.

Reader's Guide

De Niro and Scorsese have made ten feature films and one short film together since 1973. Their collaborations include Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1982), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Casino (1995), The Irishman (2019), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), plus the short film The Audition (2015). De Niro won an Oscar for Raging Bull. Goodfellas was named the greatest film of all time by Total Film in 2005.

Raging Bull was chosen as the best sports film ever by the American Film Institute. De Niro and Scorsese also both lent their voices to the 2004 animated film Shark Tale, with De Niro voicing Don Lino and Scorsese voicing Sykes. They co-starred in Irwin Winkler's 1991 film Guilty by Suspicion. Scorsese produced Mad Dog and Glory (1993) starring De Niro, and executive produced The Family (2013) also starring De Niro, bringing the total number of films on which both have worked to fifteen.