Robert De Niro - Biography

Last Editor: lyric0ne				Robert De Niro Biography -   Name : Robert De Niro Birth Date : August 17, 1943 Birth Place : New York, USA Height : 5'9 Education : Stella Adler Conservatory in New York American Workshop New York University (received Honorary Doctorate in 1996) Studied acting with Lut Occupation : Actor, producer, director Nationality : American Claim to fame : as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976)

Robert De Niro Trivia -

After marrying African-American Diahnne Abbott he adopted her daughter 'Drena De Niro', Abbott's daughter from her previous marriage. Drena refuses to identify her biological father. He also has son Raphael De Niro with Abbott. Robert had a long term relationship with African-American fashion model Toukie Smith. Smith is the sister of late fashion designer Willi Smith. They have twins sons together, twins Aaron Kendrick De Niro and Julian Henry De Niro (b. October 20, 1995). Their twins were conceived by in vitro fertilization. He married his second wife Grace Hightower in 1997 and she gave birth to their son, Elliot De Niro on March 18, 1998. In 1999 he renewed his marriage vows to Grace at their Ulster County farm near New York's Catskill Mountains, but later in the year he filed for divorce. Their fallout continued into 2001 as a potential custody battle over their son Elliott heated up. However, the divorce was never finalized and they managed to smooth over their troubles. When he was a child, he was an avid reader of playwrights. Growing up in the Little Italy section of New York City, his nickname was "Bobby Milk" because he was so thin and as pale as milk. He turned down the role of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Was considered for the role of Josh Bakin in Big (1988). Was offered but turned down the role of Sal the pizza shop owner in Do the Right Thing (1989). He is the son of painter Virginia Admiral and abstract expressionist Robert De Niro Sr. Despite being raised Presbyterian, Virginia was an atheist for most of Robert's childhood. Robert Sr was raised Catholic but was not religious in any way. After De Niro was born, his father Robert Sr came out as a homosexual male and eventually divorced Robert's mother. He formed his production company, TriBeCa Productions, in 1989. In his 1980 Oscar acceptance speech he thanked Joey LaMotta (brother of Jake LaMotta), who was at the time suing United Artists for the portrayal of him in Raging Bull (1980). After being caught up in a Paris prostitution ring investigation, he, denying any involvement, vowed never to return to France again (1998). Although he is commonly referred to as an Italian-American actor, De Niro is actually one-quarter Italian in ancestry. His father was half-Irish and half- Italian. His mother was of French, Dutch and German ancestry. He was, however, quite close to his Italian paternal grandfather, whom Robert visited frequently in Syracuse, NY when he was young. De Niro has stated that he identifies "more with [his] Italian side". Inducted into the Italian-American Hall of Fame in 2002. He is the second actor to win an Oscar for portraying Vito Corleone. He and Marlon Brando are the only two actors to win an Oscar for playing the same character. He first discovered his love for acting at age 10 when he portrayed The Cowardly Lion in a local production of "The Wizard of Oz." He dropped out of high school to join a gang. Formerly held the World Record for Most Weight Gained for a Movie, in gaining over 60 pounds for his role in Raging Bull (1980). But seven years later, Vincent D'Onofrio eclipsed him in gaining 70 pounds for his role in Full Metal Jacket (1987). Three movies (at least) that De Niro has appeared in have the song "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones noticeably featured in the soundtrack - - The Fan (1996), Casino (1995) and Goodfellas (1990). He ranked #78 in Premiere's 2002 annual Power 100 List. In 1993 he was tapped to star as Enzo Ferrari in the film "Ferrari", which was budgeted at $65 million (U.S.) and had Michael Mann attached as director. The project fell through. He organised the first Tribeca Film Festival in May 2002. He intended to revitalise the Lower Manhattan area after September 11th attacks. He has said that Meryl Streep is his favorite actress to work with. He was voted as the best actor of all time at FilmFour.com (2002). British pop group Bananarama had a hit song dedicated to him called "Robert De Niro's Waiting." De Niro heard about it and arranged to meet the three girls, but they got so nervous, while waiting for him, that they got drunk before he even arrived. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and expected to make a full recovery (October 2003). He spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect in order to play Vito Corleone in The Godfather: Part II (1974). Nearly all the dialogue that his character spoke in the movie was in Sicilian. When he was a child, he was an avid reader of playwrights. According to a profile in Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood issue, is the first actor to do a method interpretation of a cartoon character as Fearless Leader in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000). He started the whole "awards show ribbon" tradition by wearing a green ribbon on his lapel at the 1981 Academy Awards. The ribbon was in rememberance of several African-American children who were victims of a serial killer in Atlanta, Georgia in 1980-1981. The ribbon was given to him by a fan in the bleachers as he arrived; the victims' families had been wearing them for months. He was in Ossining, New York (home of the infamous Sing Sing penitentiary) to shoot three different movies: Analyze This (1999), Analyze That (2002) and Hide and Seek (2005). In the Egyptian film Medina, El (1999), the main actor Ali has a duck that he named De Niro after his favorite actor. He was voted the Number 2 greatest movie star of all time in a Channel 4 (UK) poll, narrowly being beaten by Al Pacino. It was tricky to make him look huge as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1994) , considering that Kenneth Branagh, who played Dr. Frankenstein, is of similar height. Many of the tricks used to make humans, wizards and elves dwarf the hobbits later on for "Lord of the Rings" trilogy were also employed to make De Niro appear much bigger than his co-stars, including using very large men as body doubles for shots where only the hands and feet are seen. He was voted the 34th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Singer P.J. Harvey refers to De Niro in a song, "Reeling," from her album '4-Track Demos". Finley Quaye mentions him in the song "Sunday Shining", in the line "I'm a hero like Robert De Niro". He was unable to accept his first Oscar in 1975 due to filming commitments to Bernardo Bertolucci's Novecento (1976). He was good friends with comedian John Belushi, who died of a drug overdose on March 5, 1982. In fact, De Niro and Robin Williams were the last stars to see Belushi alive, albeit on separate visits to Bungalow #3 of L.A.'s Chateau Marmont hotel that fateful day. De Niro visited Belushi at 3:00 am on the morning of his death, but, according to eyewitnesses, left minutes later after seeing that Belushi was ill. Less than an hour earlier, Belushi had been visited by Robin Williams, who also left straight away. He ranked #1 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest Living Actor (Gods Among Us)" list (October 2004). At the age of 17, after leaving the movies with a friend, he unexpectedly stated that he was going to be a film actor. No one believed him until he dropped out of his senior year of high school and joined Stella Adler's acting school. His boyhood idols among actors included Montgomery Clift, Robert Mitchum and Marlon Brando. He preferred the darker, more character-driven work of these men to the older stars of Hollywood, for whom their public persona as a star was more important than their immersion into the character. Rarely he does interviews and is known as one of the most ultra-private celebrities. He was the subject of a late 90s interview (and cover photo) for Esquire magazine. Most of the article focused on how guarded he is with his personal life, what few details are known about him, what rumors are speculated while only a minority of the article dealt with the actual interview itself. The writer noted that while the interview was ultimately agreed upon, he was given a substantial list of off-limit subjects NOT to ask De Niro about. They included: politics, religion, his family, his reported interest in fine wines, and so on. When they met shortly before making Mean Streets (1973) De Niro and Harvey Keitel became fast friends. De Niro was from Greenwich Village in Manhattan and was taught by Stella Adler and Keitel was from the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn and was mainly mentored by Lee Strasberg. But the two guarded actors bonded and remain close to this day. He and Martin Scorsese were brought up blocks apart in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan, but never formally met when they were young. When introduced at a party in 1972, the two came to realize that they had seen each other many times but had never spoken. Limo drivers in Los Angeles joke about his less than generous tips by referring to him as "No Dinero". Very good friends with fellow actor and frequent co-star Joe Pesci. In fact, De Niro was considered for the role of Harry in Home Alone (1990) that went Pesci. In October 1997 he ranked #5 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. In 2005 Premiere Magazine ranked him as #38 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature. Both of his Oscar-winning performances involved Marlon Brando. His first Oscar, for Best Supporting Actor, had him playing the younger version of Brando's character Vito Corleone. His second, for Best Actor in Raging Bull (1980), he recited Brando's famous lines from On the Waterfront (1954). He underwent surgery for prostate cancer at New York's Sloan-Kettering Hospital in December 2003. The cancer has now gone into remission. He is left handed. However, he wrote with his right hand in Taxi Driver (1976). Co-owns the Rubicon restaurant in San Francisco with Bay area residents Francis Ford Coppola and Robin Williams. Much of his father's art work adorns the walls of the business. He also owns a restaurant in West Hollywood, Ago, and co-owns several restaurants in New York, including Nobu and Layla. He shares a birthday with friend and sometime-co-star Sean Penn. First performer to win an Oscar (for The Godfather: Part II (1974)) for a performance in a sequel. He is a staunch supporter of the US Democratic Party. He lobbied Congress against impeaching President Bill Clinton in 1998. He supported Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential election and supported John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election. Supported Democratic senator Barack Obama for the 2008 presidential election. His performance as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980) is ranked #10 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). His performance as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976) is ranked #42 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). His performance as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976) is ranked #22 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. Early on, before Tim Burton was commissioned as director, was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). He was offered the part of Dick Tracy in Dick Tracy (1990). Turned down the role of Tony D'Amato in Any Given Sunday (1999). Passed up the opportunity to play Frank Costello in The Departed (2006) to work on his second directorial feature The Good Shepherd (2006). He won an Oscar for playing Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980), making him one of 11 actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still 'alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2007). The other ten actors and their respective performances are: Spencer Tracy for playing Father Edward Flanagan' in Boys Town (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sergeant York (1941), Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), Jason Robards for playing Benjamin C. Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking (1995), Geoffrey Rush for playing 'David Helfgott' in Shine (1996), Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich-Ellis in Erin Brockovich (2000), Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris (2001/I) and most recently Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006). After Once Upon a Time in America (1984), director Sergio Leone planning to cast De Niro in a film he was working on about the siege of Leningrad in World War II, but that project never came about due to Leone's death in 1989. For the role of Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991), he paid a dentist $5,000 to make his teeth look suitably bad. After filming, he paid $20,000 to have them fixed. For this film, he was tattooed with vegetable dyes, which faded after a few months. Accidentally broke a rib of Joe Pesci in a sparring scene in Raging Bull (1980). This shot appears in the film: De Niro hits Pesci in the side, Pesci groans, and there is a quick cut to another angle. Mentioned in "Wierd Al" Yankovic's song 'Frank's 2000" TV'. Owns residences on the east and west sides of Manhattan as well as near Marbletown, New York. De Niro is one of five performers to win an Oscar playing a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language. The other are Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Roberto Benigni and Benicio Del Toro. He played a real life CIA director in "The Good Shepherd" (2006) and another real life CIA agent in "Ronin" (1998), as well as fictional CIA agent in "Meet the Parents" (2000). Mentioned in the ZZ Top song, "Gun Love", in the line, "Runnin' with the Wild Bunch, makin' like Robert De Niro". Attended the star-studded opening of Dubai's lavish Atlantis Palms resort. Guests were welcomed in style with a display of one million fireworks, said to be visible from space. [November 11, 2008] Is mentioned in Stephen Lynch's song Vanilla Ice Cream. He made his directorial debut in A Bronx Tale (1993). As of the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), De Niro is the most represented actor, by 14 films. Included are the De Niro films Mean Streets (1973), The Godfather: Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Novecento (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1982), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Brazil (1985), The Untouchables (1987), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), Heat (1995) and Meet the Parents (2000).

Robert De Niro Detailed Biography -

Robert De Niro was born in New York on August 17th, 1943. His mother was a painter and his father was a painter, sculptor and poet. At the age of ten he played his first stage role, appearing in the Wizard of Oz as the Cowardly Lion, a perfect role for the shy boy. His early teens were mostly spent hanging around with a small-time gang, but acting eventually returned. His first paying gig as an actor was in a touring performance of Chekhov's The Bear. He worked steadily in dinner theaters and Off-Broadway, studying with Method acting teachers Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. His first three film releases were with director Brian De Palma, who led him through The Wedding Party, Greetings and Hi, Mom!. The Wedding Party, which was actually shot in 1963, took six years to make it to the screen. In 1973 he caught the attention of critics and other filmmakers when he appeared as Bruce Pearson, a dying baseball player in Bang the Drum Slowly. The role earned him a New York Film Critics award for Best Actor. 1973 was also the year that he first worked with Martin Scorsese, working in the film Mean Streets. The pair would do some of their best work together, and over the years they have made Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, New York, New York, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and Casino. In 1974, De Niro caught the attention of audiences as well as he apppeared as a young Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Part II. He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® for that performance. Travis Bickle is arguably De Niro's most famous role, and it earned him the first of five Best Actor nominations from the Academy Awards®. De Niro ended the 70's with his 1978 role in The Deer Hunter. He started the 80's with his performance of Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. His dedication to his craft was exemplified by his gaining of 60 pounds to play the role. Other roles in the 80's included Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy with Jerry Lewis, Once Upon a Time in America, Brazil, The Mission, The Untouchables and Midnight Run. The next decade started with Martin Scorsese again as he appeared with Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in Goodfellas. He worked with Martin again in 1991 when they remade Cape Fear. De Niro also started the Tribeca Film Center in the 90's, a company intent on promoting film-making in New York. The need for cash to fund this venture led many critics to believe that was his sole purpose in working in duds like We're No Angels, The Fan and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. That wasn't always the trend in the 90's however and in 1995 he had well-recieved turns in both Heat (which paired him onscreen with fellow acting god Al Pacino) and another role for Scorcese in Casino. He worked with Dustin Hoffman in Wag the Dog (1997) and skewered his mob roles opposite Billy Crystal in the comedy hit Analyze This in 1999. His last performance in 1999, Flawless, also earned him good notices. The 90's also saw him take a stab at directing and in 1993 he directed and starred in A Bronx Tale. 2000 was a busy year for De Niro. The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle made a loud flopping sound at the box office, but he had two chances to redeem himself with performances in Men of Honor with Cuba Gooding Jr. and the comedy Meet the Parents with Ben Stiller. In 2001, De Niro worked opposite Ed Burns in 15 Minutes and with Marlon Brando and Edward Norton on The Score. Robert worked with Eddie Murphy in 2002's Showtime. That same year, he appeared in City by the Sea and revisted his neurotic gangster, Paul Vitti, in the sequel Analyze That. His appearance in 2004's Godsend was mostly trashed by the critics.