Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#95). [1995]
Served in the U. S. Marines.
Worked as a court stenographer in NYC for about 10 years while he was a struggling actor.
Worked as a salesman in a women's shoestore.
Dated Andie MacDowell. [1999]
Ranked #37 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Has demonstrated extraordinary enthusiasm for working with first-time directors, from Martin Scorsese in 1968 to Ridley Scott, Paul Schrader, James Toback, Quentin Tarantino, and in 1999, Vietnamese-American Tony Bui.
His last name is pronounced (kuh-taal).
Listed as one of Entertainment Weekly's 25 Best Actors. [1998]
Daughter, Stella, with Lorraine Bracco.
Met second wife, Daphna Kastner at the Toronto film festival on 11 September 2001 and married her in a secret ceremony in Jerusalem, Israel three weeks later (7 October).
Has a son, Hudson, born to then girlfriend Lisa Karmazin, a potter in California, in the summer of 2001.
Married Israeli-born wife Daphna Kastner in Jerusalem.
A member of The Actors Studio, had studied with Frank Corsaro, Lee Strasberg & Stella Adler.
Operates his own film production company, The Goatsingers, with partner Peggy Gormley
Expecting first child with wife Daphna Kastner in fall 2004.
Shares two roles with Dennis Farina. At the end of Get Shorty (1995), he plays the Dennis Farina character in the movie-within-a-movie. Farina also originated the role of Jack Crawford in Manhunter (1986), a role that Keitel played in the remake Red Dragon (2002).
He was originally cast as Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979). He was let go from the film, just two weeks into filming due to creative differences with director Francis Ford Coppola. Martin Sheen replaced him.
Appears in Get Shorty (1995) and its sequel, Be Cool (2005), but in two completely different parts.
Like his good friend Robert De Niro, Keitel is usually very uncomfortable during interviews, often nervously laughing through them.
Although he frequently plays Italian-American characters, Keitel is of fully Jewish-Polish heritage.
Is one of three actors to play Jack Crawford in the Hannibal Lecter films. He played the role in Red Dragon (2002), while Scott Glenn played the role in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Dennis Farina played the role in Manhunter (1986).
Played Jodie Foster's pimp in Taxi Driver (1976), and her future mentor in Red Dragon (2002), the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
Graduated from the BFA program at the prestigious Actors Studio, New School University in New York city, under Dean James Lipton.
He was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 24th Istanbul Film Festival. (16 April 2005)
Son, Roman, with wife Daphna Kastner. [August 2004]
Apocalypse Now, from which he was fired, was loosely based on Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness. Although Keitel didn't appear in the final film, he does appear in The Duellists, which is based on another Joseph Conrad story.
Harvey Keitel Detailed Biography
Harvey Keitel, who is both an Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, established his career with Martin Scorsese's early films Mean Streets, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and Taxi Driver. With several producing credits, including Reservoir Dogs and The Grey Zone, and as president of the famed Actor's Studio (one of three), Keitel has become a national treasure.
Through the years, Keitel has worked with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Jane Campion, Quentin Tarantino, Abel Ferrara, Barry Levinson, Theo Angelopoulos, Lina Wertmuller, Ridley Scott, Alan Rudolph, Jon Turteltaub and Brett Ratner. His film credits include Reservoir Dogs, Bugsy, Thelma & Louise, Red Dragon, The Grey Zone, Holy Smoke, Ulysses' Gaze, Pulp Fiction, The Piano, Bad Lieutenant, National Treasure, The Last Temptation of Christ, Taxi Driver, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Mean Streets, and Mortal Thoughts.
A native New Yorker, Keitel began his career in theater after studying Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler and Frank Corsaro. He received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for Bugsy, and an Independent Spirirt Award for Best Male Lead in Bad Lieutenant. He has also been honored by the San Francisco International Film Festival, National Society of Film Critics, Moscow International Film Festival, the Gotham Awards, the Boston Film Festival, the Berlin Film Festival and the Australian Film Institute.
