Robert De Niro

He was born on August 17, 1943, in New York, NY.His education was in held Stella Adler Conservatory, New York; American Workshop . One of the most gifted actors of the post-Brando generation and often regarded as Brando's heir, Robert De Niro combines the qualities of exceptional movie actors danger, unpredictability, magnetism with a distinctive touch of nihilism.

The son of abstract expressionist artist Robert De Niro and painter Virginia Admiral, he studied drama with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg and appeared in several off-Broadway productions early in his career. De Niro's first screen appearances came in films directed by Brian De Palma; his roles in GREETINGS (1968), THE WEDDING PARTY (1969) and HI, MOM! (1970) displayed signs of the defiance and irreverence which typified his later work. Other glimpses of what would become signature De Niro characteristics were visible in his portrayals of a moody, drug-addicted criminal in BLOODY MAMA (1970) and a charmingly roguish smalltime thief in THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT (1971). De Niro was riveting as a slow-witted, dying baseball player in BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY (1973), which won him the New York Film Critics best supporting actor award. Many critics, however, date his breakthrough to his small gem of a performance in Martin Scorsese's MEAN STREETS (1973), as the irresponsible and irrepressible Johnny Boy. In THE GODFATHER, PART II (1974), De Niro faced the challenge of depicting a young version of one of the most familiar characters in all of sound cinema Don Vito Corleone, originally played by Marlon Brando.

De Niro's performance, which won him a best supporting actor Academy Award, was a masterpiece of nuanced gestures, glances and speech patterns that captured the pride and inner reserve of Brando's mature "Godfather." An equally astonishing portrayal was his enigmatic steelworker-turned-Green Beret in Michael Cimino's THE DEER HUNTER (1978), a compelling central performance that held the entire film together.

The collaboration with Scorsese that began with MEAN STREETS has produced some of De Niro's and modern American cinema's most memorable performances the deranged Travis Bickle in TAXI DRIVER (1976), the jazz saxophonist Jimmy Doyle in NEW YORK, NEW YORK (1977), the boxer Jake LaMotta in RAGING BULL (1980, a tour de force which won him a best actor Oscar), frustrated comic Rupert Pupkin in THE KING OF COMEDY (1983) and the smalltime mobster Jimmy Conway in GOODFELLAS (1990). Remarkably, De Niro recorded the reprehensible qualities of these characters without losing sight of their humanity. Travis Bickle's crazed in-the-mirror monologue ("You talkin' to me?"), so chilling because it is so recognizably human, became a touchstone of modern technique.

De Niro is at his best when he can suggest a man on the edge, struggling with his demons, as he did with the caring but mercurial Vietnam veteran in JACKNIFE (1989) and the obsessed but kindhearted bounty hunter in MIDNIGHT RUN (1988). Just the suggestion of this struggle made his loony rebel cameo in BRAZIL (1985) memorable and has allowed him to create effective characters in films that were otherwise less than entirely successful the ambitious monsignor in TRUE CONFESSIONS (1981), the reflective gangster in ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984) and the militant Jesuit priest in THE MISSION (1986). His attempts at playing unambiguously evil characters (ANGEL HEART, THE UNTOUCHABLES, 1987) have been less fruitful, as have his portrayals of passive figures (THE LAST TYCOON, 1976, 1900, 1977, FALLING IN LOVE, 1984, STANLEY & IRIS, 1990, MAD DOG AND GLORY, 1993). De Niro has become less selective in his recent film roles, reportedly in an effort to finance his own film and TV projects. He contributed little that was new or revealing to Penny Marshall's AWAKENINGS (1990) and barely broke a sweat for Ron Howard's BACKDRAFT (1991). Even his seventh collaboration with Scorsese, CAPE FEAR (1991), was a marked step down.

Improbably combining disparate elements of two celebrated Robert Mitchum performances (in the original CAPE FEAR, 1962 and NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, 1955), De Niro created a Max Cady who was more monster than man. His increasingly bizarre and malicious antics as he bedevils the family of Nick Nolte seemed more appropriate for a Brian De Palma black comedy or John Carpenter potboiler than a work by one of our leading "serious" filmmakers. Nonetheless, De Niro's name continues to signify quality to many reviewers and audiences, and he is undoubtedly still capable of the kind of performances that made his reputation.

His most notable recent collaborations have been with producer-director Irwin Winkler, in GUILTY BY SUSPICION (1991) and NIGHT AND THE CITY (1992).De Niro is known as a champion of New York film production and his Tribeca Film Center, in which his own Tribeca Films company is based, has become a hub of the city's nascent production community. In 1992 he produced actor Barry Primus's low-budget directorial debut, MISTRESS, as well as the more ambitious THUNDERHEART. He also served as co-executive producer of the short-lived TV series "Tribeca" (1992-93). Following his portrayal of the bullying, brutish stepfather in THIS BOY'S LIFE (1993), De Niro made an assured directorial debut with A BRONX TALE (1993), drawing on some of his own background to inform the screen adaptation of Chazz Palminteri's play.