Information AboutRobert De Niro |
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Robert De Niro, Jr. (born August 17 , 1943 ) is a twice Academy Award -winning American film Actor , Director and Producer . He is regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation, perhaps best noted for his portrayal of characters in the gangster underworld and for his enduring collaboration with the director Martin Scorsese . EARLY CAREER De Niro was born in New York City , the son of Robert De Niro, Sr. , an Abstract Expressionist painter, sculptor, and Poet of Irish and Italian descent (De Niro's great-grandparents were Italian immigrants from the village of Ferrazzano , Molise ), and Virginia Admiral, also a painter. They had met at the painting classes of Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Massachusetts . His parents Divorce d when he was two years old. De Niro first attended the Little Red School House and was then enrolled by his mother at the High School of Music and Art in New York . He dropped out at the age of 13 and joined a Little Italy street gang, where he earned the nickname ''Bobby Milk'' due to his white complexion. He then had a falling-out with his father, although they were eventually reconciled when, at 18, he flew to Paris to bring his father home when he had been suffering from Depression . De Niro attended the Stella Adler Conservatory, as well as Lee Strasberg 's Actor's Studio (although De Niro conflicted with Strasberg's methods, and used his membership there mostly as a professional advantage). At the age of 16 he toured in Chekhov 's '' The Bear ''. FILM CAREER At the age of 20, in 1963, came De Niro's first important collaboration with Brian De Palma , when he appeared in '' The Wedding Party ''; it was not released until 1969 , however. He spent much of the 1960s working in theater workshops and Off-Broadway productions. He was an extra in the French film '' Three Rooms In Manhattan '' ( 1965 ), and was reunited with De Palma in ''Greetings'' ( 1968 ) and '' Hi, Mom '' ( 1970 ). He gained popular attention with his role as a sick Baseball catcher in '' Bang The Drum Slowly '' ( 1973 ). The same year he began his fruitful collaboration with Scorsese when he played his memorable role as the smalltime Mafia hood "Johnny Boy" alongside Harvey Keitel 's "Charlie" in '' Mean Streets ''. This led to an very successful relationship between the pair in films such 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 ). In these films, De Niro has primarily played charming Sociopath s. ''Taxi Driver'' is particularly important to De Niro's career; his Icon ic performance as Travis Bickle shot him to stardom and forever linked De Niro's name with Bickle's famous "you talkin' to me?" Monologue , which De Niro himself improvised. ]] In 1978 , De Niro played "Michael Vronsky" in the acclaimed Vietnam War film '' Deer Hunter ''. Another notable role was in Sergio Leone 's '' Once Upon A Time In America '' as the Jew ish gangster "David 'Noodles' Aaronson" ( 1984 ). Beginning in the mid- 1980s , De Niro began expanding into occasional comedic roles, and has had much success there as well with such films as '' Brazil '' ( 1985 ), '' Midnight Run '' ( 1988 ), '' Wag The Dog '' ( 1997 ), '' Analyze This '' ( 1999 ), '' Analyze That '' ( 2002 ), '' Meet The Parents '' ( 2000 ) and '' Meet The Fockers '' ( 2004 ). in'' Heat ''.]] He has won two for his role in '' Raging Bull ''; and as Best Supporting Actor for '' The Godfather, Part II ''. De Niro and (although he declined the award) in '' The Godfather '' while De Niro later won the award for playing the young Vito in ''The Godfather, Part II''. Brando and De Niro did not work together on screen until '' The Score '' ( 2001 ). De Niro actually auditioned for the role of Sonny in the first ''Godfather'' but the role was given to James Caan . When ''The Godfather, Part II'' was in preproduction, the director Francis Ford Coppola remembered De Niro's audition, and knew he was going to play young Vito Corleone. De Niro's performance in the film is one of only four performances to win an Academy Award for working in a foreign language, as he primarily spoke Sicilian , with very few phrases in English ("I didn't come here to fight with you" and "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse"). Praised for his commitment to roles (stemming from his background in Method Acting ), De Niro gained 60 Pounds (27 Kg ) and learned how to box for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in '' Raging Bull '', ground his teeth for '' Cape Fear '', lived in Sicily for ''The Godfather, Part II'', and learned to play the Saxophone for '' New York, New York ''. De Niro is considered a skilled observer of physical tics and details, and is an intense perfectionist. He is often compared to the actor Al Pacino with whom he appeared in '' The Godfather, Part II '' (though never in a scene together) in 1974 and '' Heat '' in 1995 . In De Niro's next project he will direct and co-star in '' The Good Shepherd '' ( 2006 ), also starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie . The movie also marks the return of actor Joe Pesci , who has been offscreen for almost a decade, in a small role. PERSONAL LIFE
Since 1989, De Niro has been investing in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan . His capital ventures have included co-founding TriBeCa Productions , a film studio, the hugely popular TriBeCa Film Festival , and the TriBeCa Grill, Nobu, and Layla, restaurants that usually need advance reservations. In 2004 De Niro re-married his second wife, Grace Hightower, a former flight attendant, at their estate near Marbletown in upstate New York. De Niro's primary residences are on the east and west sides of Manhattan . Their son Elliot was born in 1998 and the couple filed for divorce shortly after his birth, although the action was never officially finalized. De Niro, whose paternal great-grandparents emigrated from Italy , was due to be bestowed with honorary Italian citizenship at the Venice Film Festival in September 2004 . However, the Sons Of Italy lodged a protest with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi claiming De Niro had damaged the image of Italians and Italian-Americans by constantly portraying them in criminal roles. Culture Minister Giuliano Urbani dismissed the objections and the ceremony was rescheduled to go forward in Rome in October. Controversy flared once again when De Niro failed to show for two media appearances in Italy that October. This fueled speculation that he had snubbed the country over the citizenship imbroglio. De Niro denied this; blaming the non-appearances on "serious communication problems" that weren't "handled properly" on his end and stating, "The last thing I would want to do is offend anyone. I love Italy." Urbani hopes to confer the honor soon, although no date has yet been fixed. Although De Niro is also part Irish , German , Dutch and French - British , he has stated that he identifies "more with (his) Italian side than with (his) other parts." De Niro is a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party , and vocally supported Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential Election , and John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election . In 1998 , he Lobbied Congress against impeaching President Bill Clinton (he is a personal friend of the Clinton family), and in August 2004 announced he would not collect his honorary Italian citizenship in person so as to avoid discouraging Italians living in America from voting for Kerry, following much controversy over the earlier citizenship protest. DeNiro speaks fluent English , Italian , Sicilian and French . De Niro has been secretive about his Prostate Cancer diagnosis (2003) and treatment, but many believe he underwent a Prostatectomy . TRIVIA
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