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De Niro was born in [[New York City]], the son of [[Robert De Niro, Sr.]], an [[abstract expressionism|abstract expressionist]] painter, sculptor, and [[poet]], son of an [[Italy|Italian]]/[[Ireland|Irish]] father and Jewish/[[Ireland|Irish]] mother, (De Niro's great-grandparents were Italian immigrants from the village of [[Ferrazzano]], [[Molise]], [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrazzano]), and Virginia Admiral, also a painter. They had met at the painting classes of [[Hans Hofmann]] in [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]]. His parents [[divorce]]d when he was two years old. |
De Niro was born in [[New York City]], the son of [[Robert De Niro, Sr.]], an [[abstract expressionism|abstract expressionist]] painter, sculptor, and [[poet]], son of an [[Italy|Italian]]/[[Ireland|Irish]] father and Jewish/[[Ireland|Irish]] mother, (De Niro's great-grandparents were Italian immigrants from the village of [[Ferrazzano]], [[Molise]], [http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrazzano]), and Virginia Admiral, also a painter. They had met at the painting classes of [[Hans Hofmann]] in [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]]. His parents [[divorce]]d when he was two years old. |
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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, Manhattan|Little Italy]] street gang, where he earned the nickname ''Bobby Milk'' due to his white complexion. He then had a falling-out with his father, although they were eventually reconciled when, at 18, he flew to [[Paris]] to bring his father home when he had been suffering from [[clinical depression|depression]]. De Niro attended the [[Stella Adler]] Conservatory, as well as [[Lee Strasberg]]'s Actor's Studio (although 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 [[Anton Chekhov|Chekhov]]'s ''[[The Bear]]''. |
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, Manhattan|Little Italy]] street gang, where he earned the nickname ''Bobby Milk'' due to his white complexion. He then had a falling-out with his father, although they were eventually reconciled when, at 18, he flew to [[Paris]] to bring his father home when he had been suffering from [[clinical depression|depression]]. De Niro attended the [[Stella Adler]] Conservatory, as well as [[Lee Strasberg]]'s Actor's Studio (although 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 [[Anton Chekhov|Chekhov]]'s ''[[The Bear]]''. He is allergic to Oysters. |
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==Film career== |
==Film career== |
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Revision as of 02:54, 8 August 2006
Robert De Niro | |
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.jpg) De Niro at the Berlin International Film Festival, 1998 |
Robert De Niro Jr. (born August 17, 1943) is a two time Academy Award-winning American film actor, director, producer and founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.
He is regarded as one of the finest motion picture actors of his generation. Many regard him as the successor to Marlon Brando. He is particularly noted for his portrayal of mobsters in the gangster underworld, and conflicted, troubled characters, and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese.
Early life
De Niro was born in New York City, the son of Robert De Niro, Sr., an abstract expressionist painter, sculptor, and poet, son of an Italian/Irish father and Jewish/Irish mother, (De Niro's great-grandparents were Italian immigrants from the village of Ferrazzano, Molise, [1]), and Virginia Admiral, also a painter. They had met at the painting classes of Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His parents divorced when he was two years old.
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, where he earned the nickname Bobby Milk due to his white complexion. He then had a falling-out with his father, although they were eventually reconciled when, at 18, he flew to Paris to bring his father home when he had been suffering from depression. De Niro attended the Stella Adler Conservatory, as well as Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio (although 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. He is allergic to Oysters.
Film career
At age 20, in 1963, came De Niro's first important 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 was reunited with De Palma in Greetings (1968) and 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 1976 De Niro appeared , along with Gerard Depardieu, in Bernardo Bertolucci's epic biographical exploration of life during WWII Novecento (1900 (film)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. Another notable role was in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America as the Jewish gangster "David 'Noodles' Aaronson" (1984). Fearing he had become typecast in such roles, from the mid-1980s, De Niro began expanding into occasional comedic roles, and has had much success there as well with such films as Brazil (1985), Midnight Run (1988), Wag the Dog (1997), Analyze This (1999), Analyze That (2002), Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004).
He has won two Academy Awards: as Best Actor for his role in Raging Bull; and as 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 (although 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, director Francis Ford Coppola remembered De Niro's audition, and knew he was going to play young Vito Corleone. De Niro's performance in the film is one of only four performances 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'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse").
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.
De Niro is considered a skilled observer of physical tics and details, and an intense perfectionist. In 1995 De Niro starred in Michael Mann's Heat, in which fellow actor Al Pacino also starred. The duo drew much attention from fans as both actors have generally been compared throughout their careers. Though both Pacino and De Niro starred in The Godfather Part II, they shared no screen time. Both performances in Heat are considered highlights in their careers, especially in how the two interact in the scenes they share.
In De Niro's next project he will direct and co-star in The Good Shepherd (2006), also starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. The movie also marks the return of actor Joe Pesci, who has been offscreen for almost a decade, in a small role.
On June 7, 2006, it was announced that De Niro has donated his film archive, including scripts, costumes and props, to the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.
Personal life
De Niro has been married twice. He has a daughter, Drina (after Drina river on the border between Republika Srpska And Serbia, described in Ivo Andrić's Nobel prize-winning book Bridge on the Drina), and a son, Raphael, from first wife Dianne Abbott; and two sons, Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick, from a long-term live-in relationship with former model Toukie Smith. Smith and De Niro's boys, who are twins, were conceived by in vitro fertilization. Raphael, a former actor, now works in the New York real estate market.
Since 1989, De Niro has been investing in the TriBeCa neighborhood in lower Manhattan. His capital ventures have included co-founding TriBeCa Productions, a film studio, the hugely popular TriBeCa Film Festival, and the TriBeCa Grill, Nobu, and Layla, restaurants that usually need advance reservations.
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 primary 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 Italy (they were from Ferrazzano, in the region of Molise), 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 constantly 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 once again when De Niro failed to show for two media appearances in Italy that October. This fueled speculation that he had snubbed the country over the citizenship imbroglio. De Niro denied this; blaming the non-appearances 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." Urbani hopes to confer the honor soon, although no date has yet been fixed. Although De Niro is also part Irish, German, Dutch and French-British, he has stated that he identifies "more with [his] Italian side than with [his] other parts."
De Niro is a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party, and vocally supported Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election (in Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11, we see a clip of De Niro standing next to Gore at a rally; Moore identifies him as "that Taxi Driver guy"), and John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. In 1998, he lobbied Congress against impeaching President Bill Clinton (he is a personal friend of the Clinton family), and in August 2004 announced he would not collect his honorary Italian citizenship in person so as to avoid discouraging Italians living in America from voting for Kerry, following much controversy over the earlier citizenship protest.
Trivia
- De Niro co-owns the upscale San Francisco restaurant Rubicon with Francis Ford Coppola and Robin Williams.
- De Niro's height is 175 cm (5 ft 9 in).
- De Niro is very good friends with fellow actors and frequent co-stars, Joe Pesci and Frank Vincent.
- The English television show The Adam and Joe Show once included a song dedicated to De Niro called the "Robert De Niro Calypso". The lyrics of the song referenced many of his most well-known films, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Godfather Part II and Midnight Run. The song was written by Zac Sandler, and can be found on the Adam and Joe DVD and the lyrics were also printed in a book that tied in with the show.
- Robert De Niro is only known as Robert to his fans. In DVD special features, his co-stars always refer to him as Bob.
- De Niro speaks fluent Italian and French.
- Was nicknamed Bobby Milk during childhood, due to his pallor.
- His Italian paternal grandfather, whom he often visited in Syracuse, New York was a major influence on him in his youth.
- De Niro has been secretive about his prostate cancer diagnosis (2003) and treatment, but many believe[citation needed] he underwent a prostatectomy.
- Robert De Niro's parents are interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York, and it is believed that De Niro will be interred with them upon his death.
- He held the record for most weight gained for a movie (60 pounds) for Raging Bull (1980), until it was broken by Vincent D'Onofrio gaining 70 pounds for Full Metal Jacket (1987). That record was subsequently broken by Christian Bale who gained 100 pounds for Batman Begins (2005).
- Among the roles that De Niro turned down are The Godfather, Dick Tracy, The Silence of the Lambs, The Usual Suspects, Misery, and Get Shorty.
- De Niro was cast in the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when friend Martin Scorsee was attached to direct. A role he had expressed much excitement in playing, because when he finally gets grandkids he can tell them he was one-time a very magical chocolate maker. When Martin Scorsee left, De Niro was uncast as Willy Wonka due to Felicity Dahl's wishes.
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
Filmography
Salary
| Year | Film | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Analyze That | $20,000,000 |
| Showtime | $17,500,000 | |
| 2001 | The Score | $15,000,000 |
| 2000 | Meet the Parents | $13,500,000 |
| 1999 | Analyze This | $8,000,000 |
| 1998 | Ronin | $14,000,000 |
| 1976 | The Last Tycoon | $200,000 + percentage of gross |
| Taxi Driver | $35,000 | |
| 1969 | The Wedding Party (film) | $50 |
External links
- Robert De Niro at IMDb
- Robert De Niro Unofficial Site (italian site)
- Robert De Niro Online (fan site)
- Robert De Niro - Russian fan site
- Biography and Pictures
- Extensive biography at Tiscali UK
- Robert De Niro and wife Grace Hightower and De Niro photo gallery
- http://www.niaf.org/ The National Italian American Foundation to which De Niro belongs
- Lyrics to the Robert De Niro Calypso
- Video of the Robert De Niro Calypso from The Adam and Joe Show on YouTube
- Robert De Niro Pictures
- Roles that Robert De Niro turned down
