New York City native and high school dropout Robert De Niro has kept himself in the upper echelons of Hollywood actors for decades now, performing in myriad noteworthy roles. Quantity is the reason his name is so popular with the moviegoers, but quality is the reason why he commands respect among those in the industry and in the public eye.
Some roles obviously stand out more than others. Here are the four roles that defined Robert De Niro’s career.
1. De Niro portrayed boxer Jake LaMotta in the 1980 classic “Raging Bull,” winning Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards. He also won Best Motion Picture Actor in a Drama at the Golden Globes in 1981. He had been nominated for each award before but had never won until “Raging Bull.”
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In a 2010
Vanity Fair article, some of the people who worked on the film talked about how they wondered at the time how the film would be perceived 40 to 50 years later. They took a “let’s see” approach. The author of the article, Richard Schickel, said “We are nearing the low end of that span and ‘Raging Bull’'s hold on us is undiminished.”
2. De Niro’s first foray into the awards scene was in 1975, when he won the Best Actor for a Supporting Role Oscar award.
His role as Vito Corleone in “The Godfather: Part II” almost didn’t happen,
according to the Daily Mail.
He had auditioned to be Sonny Corleone in the original “Godfather” movie but did not get the role. James Caan got the role instead.
3. De Niro’s first recognition as the featured actor in a film was in the 1976 classic “Taxi Driver,” where he portrayed a mentally unstable car driver in New York City after returning from the Vietnam War.
He was nominated for the Best Motion Picture Actor award at the Golden Globes and nominated as the Best Actor in a Leading Role in the Academy Awards.
De Niro took his preparation seriously when it came to the role. He even drove a taxi on weekend nights in New York City, according to Andrew J. Rausch, author of "The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro."
De Niro’s taxi driver license is
displayed at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
4. Proving that age hasn’t diminished his ability, De Niro was lauded for his role in “Silver Linings Playbook,” a 2012 film. He was nominated for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Award at the Academy Awards.
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