ACTOR · BORN 1943
Robert De Niro
- Born
- 17 August 1943, Greenwich Village, New York City, New York, USA
- Known for
- Joker (2019), GoodFellas (1990), The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976)
100 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
29 Facts From Robert De Niro's Career
- #002
De Niro spent four months learning the Sicilian dialect in order to play Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather Part II' (1974). Nearly all of his dialogue in the film is in that dialect. This dedication shows how deeply he prepared for the character and helped him win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
- #006
De Niro is the second actor to win an Academy Award for playing the character Vito Corleone. Together with Marlon Brando, he holds the distinction of being one of the first two actors to win an Oscar for playing the same character. This achievement is unprecedented in cinema history.
- #009
De Niro was initially cast as Bill the Butcher in 'Gangs of New York' (2002). However, when he learned that shooting would take six months in Europe, he withdrew from the project and Daniel Day-Lewis replaced him. Day-Lewis's Oscar nomination for the role made De Niro's decision a subject of debate over how wise it was.
- #015
De Niro is one of five actors who have won an Oscar for playing a character who speaks mostly in a foreign language. The others are Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Roberto Benigni and Benicio Del Toro. De Niro achieved this with his role as Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather Part II', speaking the Sicilian dialect.
- #023
De Niro is the first actor to win an Academy Award for a performance in a sequel. He won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Vito Corleone in "The Godfather Part II" (1974). This achievement proved that sequels can also be worthy of awards.
- #031
At the 1981 Academy Awards, De Niro wore a green ribbon on his lapel, starting the "awards ceremony ribbon" tradition. The ribbon was worn in memory of the African-American children who were victims of a serial killer in Atlanta in 1980-1981. A fan in the stands had given him the ribbon as he arrived at the ceremony; the victims' families had been wearing such ribbons for months. This gesture shows De Niro's sensitivity to social issues.
- #033
While filming "The Godfather Part II" (1974), De Niro read the book "Raging Bull" (1980). Both roles earned him an Academy Award. This coincidence shows how closely connected the major productions of his career are.
- #034
In a poll conducted by Channel 4 (UK), De Niro was voted the second greatest film star of all time. He placed just behind Al Pacino on the list. This result shows his place in the world of cinema and the size of his fan base.
- #037
De Niro served as jury president at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. This prestigious role is an indication of his standing in the world of cinema.
- #038
At the 31st AFI Life Achievement Awards, Jodie Foster said that De Niro had introduced her to the real craft of acting. During the filming of "Taxi Driver" (1976), De Niro insisted on meeting Foster at a local diner to rehearse their scenes together. After a while Foster grew tired of this routine, but when De Niro began improvising during the rehearsals, Foster learned to follow his improvisations. This experience was an important turning point in Foster's acting career.
- #042
Before Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver (1976), many famous names were considered for the role of Travis Bickle, including Jeff Bridges, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Burt Reynolds, Ryan O'Neal, Peter Fonda, Al Pacino, Jon Voight, Robert Blake, David Carradine, Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Walken, Alain Delon, James Caan, Roy Scheider, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Elliott Gould, Alan Alda, Neil Diamond, George Hamilton, Charles Grodin, Michael York and Kris Kristofferson. The role ultimately went to De Niro, whose performance took his career to its peak.
- #044
De Niro is the actor with the most films on IMDb's Top 250 list, with 10: The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Raging Bull (1980), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), GoodFellas (1990), Casino (1995), Heat (1995), Joker (2019) and The Irishman (2019). This achievement shows how wide-ranging his career has been.
- #045
The longest gap in De Niro's career without an Oscar nomination is 21 years. Between Cape Fear (1991) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012) he received no nominations. The nomination that followed this long gap shows his consistency and his ability to make a comeback.
- #049
De Niro has appeared in eleven films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Raging Bull (1980), The Mission (1986), GoodFellas (1990), Awakenings (1990), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013), Joker (2019) and The Irishman (2019). Only two of these, The Godfather Part II and The Deer Hunter, won the award in that category. This shows how full his career has been with prestigious productions.
- #051
In May 2002, De Niro organized the first Tribeca Film Festival. He founded the festival to revitalize Lower Manhattan after the September 11 attacks. The festival quickly became one of the world's most important film festivals.
- #055
De Niro was unable to accept his first Academy Award in 1975 because of his shooting commitments on Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 (1976). He was able to collect the award later. This shows how committed he was to his work.
- #059
Robert De Niro has appeared in six films selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically' significant: 'Mean Streets' (1973), 'The Godfather Part II' (1974), 'Taxi Driver' (1976), 'The Deer Hunter' (1978), 'Raging Bull' (1980) and 'GoodFellas' (1990). These films are counted among the masterpieces of American cinema.
- #061
Robert De Niro turned down the opportunity to play Frank Costello in 'The Departed' (2006) in order to work on 'The Good Shepherd' (2006), his second attempt at directing. This decision shows the importance he places on his directing career.
- #064
In his 1980 Oscar acceptance speech, Robert De Niro thanked Joey LaMotta, who at the time was suing United Artists over his portrayal in 'Raging Bull'. This gesture shows his respect for the real-life people he portrays and their families.
- #065
Robert De Niro won an Oscar for playing Jake LaMotta in 'Raging Bull' (1980), making him one of 18 actors (as of 2015) to win an award for portraying a real person who was still alive on the night of the ceremony. Other actors on that list include Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Patty Duke, Jason Robards and many more famous names. This achievement demonstrates De Niro's mastery at playing characters inspired by real life.
- #079
Robert De Niro chose to work in films rather than on the stage throughout his career. Although he has rarely appeared on stage, his film performances have earned him recognition as one of the greatest actors of all time. That choice became one of the cornerstones of his long and successful career in the film industry.
- #082
In a poll conducted in the early 2000s, the UK-based magazine Empire named Robert De Niro the 'Greatest Living Actor'. The list was published under the title 'Gods Among Us' and ranked the most respected names in cinema. De Niro's placement at number one attests to his influence on both critics and audiences and to the esteem in which his career is held.
- #083
Robert De Niro turned down the role of Mitch Leary in In the Line of Fire (1993). The decision stemmed from a scheduling conflict with A Bronx Tale (1993), which he was directing at the same time. The role eventually went to John Malkovich, who earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the performance.
- #086
Robert De Niro's performance as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976) ranked 42nd on Premiere magazine's 2006 list of the '100 Greatest Performances of All Time'. The list brought together the most impressive acting in cinema history. The performance is regarded as one of the turning points of his career, and Travis Bickle has become one of the most iconic and disturbing characters in film history.
- #087
Robert De Niro is a graduate of the renowned Stella Adler Acting Studio. There he took classes directly from Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, leading figures in acting training, both of whom taught the acting method developed by Konstantin Stanislavski. This training laid the foundation for his ability to delve deeply into characters and deliver realistic performances.
- #088
Over the course of his career, Robert De Niro has worked with eight different directors who won the Best Director Oscar. They are Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Bernardo Bertolucci, Elia Kazan, Michael Cimino, Ron Howard, Barry Levinson and Alfonso Cuarón. The list shows that De Niro collaborated with some of the most important directors in cinema history and played a key role in realizing their visions.
- #089
In a 2007 interview with Total Film, when asked about young actors he admired, Robert De Niro praised Eddie Redmayne. De Niro had worked with Redmayne on The Good Shepherd (2006) as both director and actor. The praise indicates that Redmayne's acting talent was recognized early on.
- #091
Robert De Niro and his close friend Gérard Depardieu both earned Oscar nominations for playing roles that had previously won another actor an Oscar. De Niro took on the role of Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando in the first film, in The Godfather Part II (1974) and won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for it. Depardieu, for his performance in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), played a role that had previously won José Ferrer an Oscar and was nominated for Best Actor.
- #097
Robert De Niro turned down the offer to voice the character Hopper in Pixar's animated film A Bug's Life (1998). The role eventually went to Kevin Spacey, who voiced the grasshopper leader and gave the film an unforgettable villain. De Niro's refusal shows his distance from animated films, though the decision was an important step in Spacey's career.
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