Guests

Robert DeNiro

Season 4, Episode 410

Original Airdate: January 24, 1999

Born August 17, 1943 in New York City, Robert DeNiro was named after his father, who was a poet, sculptor and painter; his mother, too, was a painter. His acting debut came at the age of ten when he played the Cowardly Lion in a production of The Wizard of Oz.

Following training with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, DeNiro launched his professional career on stage, working on Broadway and the dinner theater circuit, supplemented with TV commercials. He had a variety of small film roles throughout the late 60s and early 70s, but had two significant breakthrough roles in 1973: Bang the Drum Slowly, and Mean Streets, his first collaboration with Martin Scorsese.

But he was confirmed as a star with his performance as the young Vito Corleone in Godfather II (1974), for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He was again nominated in 1978 for The Deer Hunter. He has frequently worked with Scorsese, their remarkable collaborations including Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), The King of Comedy (1983), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991) and Casino (1995).

Their working relationship was perhaps best exemplified in the 1980 classic Raging Bull, which starred DeNiro as the self-destructive boxer Jake LaMotta. This film is frequently cited when people try to explain the lengths DeNiro goes to when getting into character. Not only did he train as a boxer and actually won a couple fights, but then gained over 50 pounds to show the character's decline. To prepare for the role of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, DeNiro drove a cab for a few weeks.

The 1980s saw DeNiro take on a variety of different roles. He played a rogue air conditioner repairman in Terry Gilliam's fantasy classic Brazil (1985). He was the Devil in Angel Heart and famed gangster Al Capone in The Untouchables (both 1987). He co-starred with Charles Grodin in Midnight Run (1988), with Sean Penn in We're No Angels (1989), with Jane Fonda in Stanley and Iris (1990).

After teaming up with Scorsese for Goodfellas, playing a slick gangster, DeNiro turned in a touching performance in Awakenings (both 1990), co-starring Robin Williams. His performance as a man awakened from a life-long catatonic state earned him another Oscar nomination. He gave one of his most frightening performances ever as Max Cady in Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear (1991), which brought DeNiro a sixth Oscar nomination.

In 1993, he made his directorial debut with A Bronx Tale (1993), this time leaving the gangster role to writer Chazz Palminteri, and instead playing the concerned father. Throughout the 1990s, DeNiro again played a variety of roles, both good and evil, despite the perception of his being typecast as violent characters. These roles included an abusive stepfather in This Boy's Life (1993) with Ellen Barkin and Leonardo DiCaprio, a high level thief in Heat (1995), co-starring Al Pacino, a priest in Sleepers (1996) with Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman, and a doctor in Marvin's Room (1996) with Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton.

1997 saw DeNiro in three critically acclaimed films: Wag the Dog, Cop Land and Jackie Brown. In 1999, DeNiro spoofed his tendency for gangster roles, and showed his talent for comedy, in Analyze This!, co-starring Billy Crystal. In 2000, he topped that comedy performance with the hugely successful Meet The Parents (2000), playing Ben Stiller's nightmare prospective father-in-law. Both films are set to have sequels.

He most recently appeared in the drama The Score (2001) co-starring Marlon Brando and Edward Norton. Aside from his remarkable body of acting work, DeNiro has also added director, producer and restaurateur to his resume.