ACTOR · BORN 1943
Robert De Niro
- Born
- 17 August 1943, Greenwich Village, New York City, New York, USA
- Known for
- Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Joker (2019), The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976)
61 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Robert De Niro (born 17 August 1943) is an actor best known for Once Upon a Time in America, Joker and The Godfather Part II.
Robert De Niro over the years
61 Interesting Facts About Robert De Niro
Interesting Facts (7)
- #001
In 1984, British pop group Bananarama had a song dedicated to him called "Robert De Niro's Waiting". Robert De Niro heard about this and arranged to meet the three girls, but they got so nervous while waiting for him that they got drunk before he even arrived.
- #002
Limousine drivers in Los Angeles joke about his less than generous tips by referring to him as "No Dinero".
- #003
The Godfather (1972) predicts both of his Oscar-winning roles. In a scene with Vito Corleone, a poster advertising a Jake LaMotta fight can be seen.
- #004
Cites actor Alec Baldwin's Robert De Niro impressions as his favorites.
Robert De Niro: a sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Joella Marano, CC BY-SA 2.0 - #005
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.
- #006
Has played characters that are Vietnam veterans on five occasions: Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Jacknife (1989), Meet the Parents trilogy, and Grudge Match (2013).
- #007
This was tricky to make him look huge as Frankenstein's monster in Mary Shelley's 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 the Lord of the Rings trilogy were also employed to make Robert 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.
Production Story (10)
- #008
He turned down the role of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). He was considered for the role of Josh Baskin in Penny Marshall's Big (1988). He was offered the role of Sal the pizza shop owner in Do the Right Thing (1989), which he turned down.
- #009
Passed up the opportunity to play Frank Costello in The Departed (2006) to work on his second directorial feature The Good Shepherd (2006).
- #010
He was the one who first made Martin Scorsese aware of Leonardo DiCaprio. He had worked with DiCaprio on This Boy's Life (1993) and had been very impressed by his talent and spoke about him to his friend and frequent collaborator. Martin Scorsese and DiCaprio would later work together on many films.
- #011
He was originally cast in the role of Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York (2002), but pulled out when he discovered this would mean spending six months in Europe and was replaced by Daniel Day-Lewis.
- #012
He was originally signed to play Sal in Do the Right Thing but dropped out.
- #013
After Once Upon a Time in America (1984), director Sergio Leone planned to cast Robert 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.
- #014
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.
- #015
He was offered the role of Mitch Leary in In the Line of Fire (1993), which he turned down due to scheduling conflicts with A Bronx Tale (1993). The role went to John Malkovich.
- #016
He was considered for the role of Howard Payne in Speed (1994), which went to Dennis Hopper instead.
- #017
He turned down the role of Hopper in A Bug's Life (1998), which went to Kevin Spacey.
Behind the Scenes (8)
- #018
When he was offered a part in the film Raging Bull (1980), he deliberately put on 4 stone in weight.
- #019
It was tricky to make him look huge as Frankenstein's monster in Mary Shelley's 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 the Lord of the Rings trilogy were also employed to make Robert 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.
- #020
He accidentally broke a rib of Joe Pesci in a sparring scene in Raging Bull (1980). This shot appears in the film: Robert De Niro hits Joe Pesci in the side, he groaned, and there is a quick cut to another angle.
- #021
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).
- #022
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.
- #023
At the 31st AFI Life Achievement Awards, Jodie Foster credited Robert De Niro with introducing her to the true craft of acting. During production of Taxi Driver (1976), he would insist that they meet for coffee and rehearse their scenes together at a local diner. After a while, Jodie became bored of the routine until Robert De Niro began improvising lines during their rehearsals. Jodie soon learned to follow his improv as he weaved back and forth to the original script, in essence teaching her how to effectively build a character.
- #024
He gained 60 pounds for a single scene playing an older Jake La Motta in Raging Bull (1980).
- #025
He visited Michael Jackson on the set of the "Smooth Criminal" segment for Moonwalker (1988). Gregory Peck and Bruce Willis also visited the set.
Characters & Cast (3)
- #026
He based the movement of his character Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976) on that of a crab. He thought the character was indirect and tended to shift from side to side.
- #027
According to a profile in Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood issue, he is the first actor to do a method interpretation of a cartoon character as Fearless Leader in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000).
- #028
He was considered for the role of Harry Lime in Home Alone (1990), which went to his best friend Joe Pesci.
Easter Eggs & References (4)
- #029
The Godfather (1972) predicts both of his Oscar-winning roles. In a scene with Vito Corleone, a poster advertising a Jake LaMotta fight can be seen.
- #030
In the Egyptian film El Medina (1999), the main actor Ali has a duck that he named Robert De Niro after his favorite actor.
- #031
He is mentioned in Jay-Z's and Alicia Keys' song "Empire State of Mind".
- #032
Three movies (at least) that Robert De Niro has appeared in have the song "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones noticeably featured in the soundtrack: GoodFellas (1990), Casino (1995) and The Fan (1996).
Deeper Meaning (1)
- #033
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).
Career & Awards (12)
- #034
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 remembrance 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.
- #035
Was unable to accept his first Academy Award in 1975 due to filming commitments to Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 (1976).
- #036
He read the book Raging Bull (1980) while filming The Godfather Part II (1974). His roles in both films would win him an Academy Award.
- #037
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).
- #038
Both of his Oscar-winning performances involved Marlon Brando. His first Oscar, for Best Supporting Actor, had him playing the younger version of Marlon Brando's character Vito Corleone. His second, for Best Actor in Raging Bull (1980), he recited Marlon Brando's famous lines from On the Waterfront (1954).
- #039
He was the first guest to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009) on March 2, 2009.
- #040
He is the second actor to receive an Academy Award for portraying Vito Corleone. He and Marlon Brando were the first two actors to receive an Academy Award for playing the same character.
- #041
He organized the first Tribeca Film Festival in May 2002. He intended to revitalize the Lower Manhattan area after the September 11 attacks.
- #042
He formed his own production company, Tribeca Film Center, in 1989.
- #043
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.
- #044
Was unable to accept his first Academy Award in 1975 due to filming commitments to Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 (1976).
- #045
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).
Life & Family (16)
- #046
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.
- #047
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.
- #048
Owns residences on the east and west sides of Manhattan as well as near Marbletown, New York.
- #049
At age 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.
- #050
He walked out of a Radio Times interview after saying the journalist was asking him questions with a "negative inference".
- #051
On November 11, 2008, he 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.
- #052
He became a father for the fourth time at age 54 when his second wife Grace Hightower gave birth to their son Elliot De Niro on March 18, 1998.
- #053
He co-owns the Rubicon restaurant in San Francisco with Bay Area residents Francis Ford Coppola and Robin Williams. Much of his father Robert De Niro Sr.'s artwork 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 (with stakeholders Nobu Matsuhisa and Meir Teper) and Layla. Since 1994, Robert De Niro, Matsuhisa and Teper have expanded to own over 40 restaurants and 18 hotels in North and South America, Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.
- #054
He was good friends with comedian John Belushi, who died of an overdose on March 5, 1982. In fact, Robert 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. Robert 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 sick. Less than an hour earlier, Belushi had been visited by Robin Williams, who also left straight away.
- #055
Rarely does interviews and is known as one of the most ultra-private celebrities. He was the subject of a late 1990s 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 Robert De Niro about. They included: politics, religion, his family, his reported interest in fine wines, and so on.
- #056
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.
- #057
He underwent surgery for prostate cancer at New York's Sloan-Kettering Hospital. The cancer has now gone into remission.
- #058
When they met shortly before making Mean Streets (1973), Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel became fast friends. Robert De Niro was from Greenwich Village in Manhattan and was taught by Stella Adler, while 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.
- #059
Unlike Marlon Brando, who preceded him as Don Vito Corleone, he actually has Italian ancestry in his background. He and Marlon Brando both have Dutch ancestry.
- #060
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.
- #061
In the 1950s, Robert De Niro lived with his mother in the top floor apartment at 219 West 14th Street in Manhattan's "Little Spain".
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