Robert de Niro free essay sample

The direction of his future had already determined by his stage debut at age ten playing the Cowardly Lion in his school’s production of Wizard of Oz. De Niro was also entranced by the movies and he dropped out of high school at the age of sixteen to pursue acting. De Niro studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory, as well as Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio. De Niro first movie role , in collaboration with Brian de Palma was in 1963 at the age of 20 when he appeared opposite his friend Jill Clayburg in the Weeding Party. He gained popular attention with his role as dying MLB player in Bang The Brum Slowly (1973). That same year he began his collaboration with Martin Scorsese. When he played the crook Johny Boy alongside Harvey Keitel’s in Mean Streets (1973). In 1974 De niro had a pivotal role in Francis Ford Copolla’s The Godfather part II, playing young Vito Corleone. We will write a custom essay sample on Robert de Niro or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His performance earned him his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. De Niro and Marlon Brando who played older Vito Corleone in the first film are the only actors to have won Oscars portraying the same fictional character. Brando and De Niro came together onscreen for the only time in The Score (2001). After working with Scorsese in Mean Streets he had a successful working relationship with the director in films as Taxi Driver (1976), New York,New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King Of Comedy (1983), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991) and Casino (1995) Taxi Driver was particulary important to De Niro’s career . His iconic performance as Travis Bickle shot him to stardom and forever linked De Niro’s name with famous â€Å" You Talking To Me ? † monologue. The role of Travis Bickle earned him his first Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor. In 1978 De Niro played Michael Vronsky in the acclaimed Vietnam War film The Deer Hunter for which he was nominated for Best Actor in a leading role. Fearing he become typecast in mob roles De Niro began expanding into occasional comedic roles in the mid of 80’s and has had much success there as well with such films as Brazil (1985), the hit action-comedy Midnight Run (1988), Analyze This (1999), Meet The Parents (2000) and Meet The Fockers (2004) both opposite Ben Stiller. In 1997 he re-teamed with Harvey Keitel and ray Lliotta along with Sylvester Stallone in the crime drama Cop Land. De Niro played a supporting role taking a back seat to Stallone, Keitel, Lliotta. In 1993 he also starred in This Boys Life featuring then rising child actors Leonardo di Caprio and Tobey Maguire. Around this time he was offered the role Mitch Leary in In The Line Of Fire opposite Clint Eastwood. However due to scheduling conflicts with A Bronx Tale he turned the role down in favor of John Malkovich who himself received an Academy Award nomination for the role. In 1995 De Niro starred in Michael Mann’s police action-thriller Heat along with fellow actor and long time friend Al Pacino. The duo drew much attention from fans as both have generally been compared throughout their careers. Pacino and De Niro both starred in Godfather part II, they shared no screen time they once again appeared in the crime thriller Righteous Kill. In 1993 De Niro made his directorial debut with a Bronx Tale. De Niro did not direct another film until 2006 The Good Shepherd. De Niro and his first wife Diahnne Abbot have a son Raphael, he also adopted Abbot’s daughter Drena. De Niro has twin sons Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrik. In 1997 De Niro married his second wife Grace Hightower. In addition to his six children he has grandchildren. De Niro has residences on the east and west Manhatan. I think that only an actor so talented can create such a variety of roles and in my opinion that despite his achievements and awards he is not appreciated enough in his environment. References: Baxter, John. De Niro: A Biography. HarperCollins. 2002 www. pl. wikipedia. org www. filmweb. pl