Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro at the Cannes Film Festival. Photo by Olivier Strecker on Wikimedia

Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Robert De Niro

Robert Anthony De Niro was born on August 17 1943. He was born in Manhattan in New York City. The only child of painters Virginia Admiral and Robert De Niro Sr.

He is an American actor and producer. He studied acting at HB Studio, Stella Adler Conservatory, and Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio.

His first major role was Greetings. He gained early recognition with his role as a baseball player in the sports drama Bang the Drum slowly.

He is well established for his nine collaborations with filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Moreover, he is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

In 2009, De Niro received the Kennedy Center Honor and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama in 2016.

De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of world middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta. This was in Scorsese’s biography drama Raging Bull in 1980. This was his first Oscar in this category.

Moreover, he received praise for his performances in three films. These are Goodfellas whereby who portrayed gangster Nimmy Conway, a catatonic patient in the drama Awakenings (1990), and a criminal in the psychological thriller Cape Fear (1991).

De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal founded the film and television production company. The TriBeCa Productions in 1989. It has produced several films alongside his own.

Let’s learn more about Robert Anthony De Niro:

1. Robert’s First Role was at the Age of 10 in a Staging of The Wizard of Oz

De Niro attended PS 41, a public elementary set in Manhattan, through the sixth grade. However, he began acting classes at the Dramatic workshop.

Robert made his Stage debut in school at the age of 10. He played the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. He threatened to thrash a hippopotamus from top to bottom.

2. Dropped out of High School to Pursue Acting

Robert De Niro at the Toronto International Film Festival 2011. Photo by Tony Shek on Wikimedia

He attended Elisabeth Irwin High School. The upper school of the Little Red School House. For the seventh and eighth grades.

Later, He was then accepted into the High School of Music and Art for the ninth grade. However, he attended for only a short time before transferring to a public junior high school. The Charles Evans Hughes Junior High School.

De Niro attended high school at McBurney School and later, Rhodes Preparatory School. He became fascinated by the cinema, so he dropped out of high school at 16 to pursue acting.

Later on, he studied acting at HB Studio and Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio. As a young actor, De Niro was inspired by the work of Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Greta Garbo, Geraldine Page, and Kim Stanley.

De Niro’s had minor film roles in Encounter, Three Rooms in Manhattan (both released in 1965) and Les Jeunes Loups (1968). He landed a major role in Greetings (1968), a satirical film about men avoiding the Vietnam War draft.

 The film marked the first of a series of early collaborations between De Niro and director Brian De Palma. He has also acted in many more movies.

3. Robert De Niro is a two-time Oscar winner

Robey De Niro has won two Oscar Awards from his eight Academy Award nominations. He bagged the coveted Oscar for best-supporting actor. This was in his role as Vito Corleone in the classic movie The Godfather Part II.

Amazingly, De Niro, alongside Marlon Brando, won an Oscar for playing the same fictional Vito Corleone character. He also won an Oscar for his role as Jake LaMotta in the 1980 movie Raging Bull.

The respected actor has won numerous other awards for his outstanding work in the acting arena.

4. Took Firearm Training and Studied the Behavior of Taxi Drivers for a Film Role

Robert De Niro at the Toronto International Film Festival 2011. Photo by Josh Jensen on Wikimedia

Robert collaborated with Scorsese for the psychological drama Taxi Driver. Before, he had collaborated with him Again in Mean Streets Film.

The Taxi Driver Film tells the story of Travis Bickle, a lonely taxi driver who descends into insanity. The film is set in gritty and morally bankrupt New York City following the Vietnam War.

For him to play the role, he spent time with members of the U.S army base to learn their Midwestern accent and mannerisms. He also lost 30 pounds (13 kg) in weight.

He took firearm training and studied the behaviour of taxi drivers. This film was critically acclaimed, in particular for De Niro’s performance. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Actor for De Niro.

5. He Once held the Record for Gaining the Most Weight for an Acting role

De Niro had to gain weight for an acting role. The film was Ragging Bull. It was adapted from Jake LaMotta’s memoir.

He portrayed the role of Jake LaMotta. The Italian-American middleweight boxer whose violent behaviour and temper destroyed his relationship with his wife and family.

Robert said that it was one of the toughest roles to prepare for. Since he had to gain 60 pounds and learn to box

At the 53rd Academy Awards, the film received eight nominations. Robert won the Best Actor Awards.

6. De Niro once made a more Serious Sacrifice to Play a Violent Criminal Character

Robert De Niro at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. Photo by David Shankbone on Wikimedia

To look more like a criminal when acting he a dentist $5,000 to grind down his teeth. He was portraying the role of Max Candy in Cape Fear Film.

 He wanted to assume the physical traits of the sadistic ex-con and was willing to go to the extreme to achieve that. Later, after filming, he paid the same dentist $20,000 to repair the damage.

7. Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom

This is the highest civilian award in the United States. It is bestowed by the United States president. The medal of freedom is awari to individuals who have made meritorious contributions to the State, world peace, or public or private endeavours.

Robert De Niro was among those who received this coveted award by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, in 2016.

8. Robert De Niro was once Interrogated by French Police concerning a Prostitution Ring

Robert De Niro – Tribeca Film Festival “Whatever Works” Premiere. Photo by Rubenstein on Wikimedia

In February 1998, De Niro was interrogated for questioning by French police. Due to connecting with an international prostitution ring. However, he denied the allegations.

Later, he filed a complaint against the examining magistrate for violation of secrecy in an investigation. He stated he would not return to France. However, he has since travelled there several times including for the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

9. The feisty and Gifted Actor is Never Afraid to weigh in on Politics

He lobbied Congress to try and stop Bill Clinton’s impeachment in 1998 and has recently been speaking out against the current POTUS.

 A longtime critic of the former U.S. president and even went ahead and publicly expressed a sigh of relief when the President was not re-elected in 2020. On more than one occasion, he has publicly condemned Trump for his actions.

10. The Co-founder of Film Production Company

Robert De Niro at 43rd Karlovy Varies International Film Festival. Photo by Petr Novak on Wikimedia

1989, De Niro and partner Jane Rosenthal co-founded the film production company. The TriBeCa Productions. It also organizes the Tribeca Film Festival.

Additionally, De Niro owns Tribeca Grill. An American restaurant located at 375 Greenwich Street in Tribeca, Manhattan. It opened in 1990.

He is also the owner of the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca. De Niro co-owns Nobu restaurants and hotels with partners Meir Teper and Chef Nobu Matsuhisa.