Veteran American actor and movie producer Robert De Niro is one of Hollywood’s most famous and successful actors. With a career spanning six decades, Robert De Niro has starred in numerous box office hits across several generations of film audiences. Besides a recognizable mole on his right cheek, his mannerisms and distinctive New York accent can help spot the actor from a mile away.
Known for method acting, Robert De Niro’s dedication to a role can have him spend months of intense physical and mental immersion into the character. A frequent collaborator of Martin Scorsese, De Niro has starred in over 100 films in his career. Here are Robert De Niro’s 10 most iconic movie roles.
Mean Streets (1973)
Mean Streets (1973) was the first time Robert De Niro worked with director Martin Scorsese. The then-30-year-old De Niro was already slowly gaining popularity with his performance as Bruce Pearson, a Major League Baseball player with Hodgkin’s disease, in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973). When Scorsese approached De Niro to star him in the film, he offered the young actor the choice to decide which character to play. However, Scorsese had reserved the role of John “Johnny Boy” Civello for him. Robert De Niro was so dedicated to the character, he isolated himself from the rest of the cast. Mean Streets was a critical and commercial success. The Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
To effectively overshadow his New York accent, Robert De Niro spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect. As such, Robert De Niro actually spoke the Sicilian dialect in the movie, with most of his character’s lines being Sicilian. De Niro played the iconic Vito Corleone, father of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). With The Godfather Part II (1974) set as a prequel and sequel, De Niro was cast as the young Vito Corleone. Interestingly, De Niro had initially auditioned for a part in The Godfather (1972). The actor later left to work on The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight (1971). When he returned to audition for The Godfather sequel, director Francis Ford Coppola remembered him and cast him in the movie. Robert De Niro’s performance gave him his first Academy Award nomination and win at the 47th Academy Awards.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese worked together again in the director’s 1976 neo-noir psychological thriller Taxi Driver. De Niro played the lead role as a disillusioned New York City taxi driver and Vietnam War veteran, Travis Bickle. Besides cutting his hair, De Niro took firearm training and reportedly lost 30 pounds for the role. He worked with members of the U.S. Army at a base to learn their mannerisms and Midwestern accents. He also spent time with New York City taxi drivers to understand how they behave and operate. Robert De Niro’s performance in Taxi Driver earned him his second Academy Awards nomination. One of his improvised quotes, “You talkin’ to me?” became one of Hollywood’s most memorable lines.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Robert De Niro was part of the ensemble cast in Michael Cimino‘s epic war movie The Deer Hunter (1978). De Niro starred alongside Christopher Walken, John Savage, Meryl Streep, and John Cazale. Although not initially considered for the role of Staff Sergeant Michael Vronsky (actor Roy Scheider dropped out a few weeks before filming), the director actively pursued to have Robert De Niro in the film. Since he was a relatively unknown director, Cimino banked on De Niro’s fame for the movie’s success. Robert De Niro’s performance earned him his third Academy Awards nomination, with The Deer Hunter winning Best Picture at the 51st Academy Awards. Besides being Meryl Streep’s first Oscar nomination, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1996.
Raging Bull (1980)
Martin Scorsese’s 1980 biographical sports drama Raging Bull gave Robert De Niro his second Academy Awards win. In the movie, De Niro portrayed the American professional boxer and world middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. The film followed the life of the boxer before, during, and the later years of his boxing career. The Library of Congress selected Raging Bull (1980) for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1990.
The Untouchables (1987)
Director Brian De Palma‘s The Untouchables (1987) was a critical and commercial success. Robert De Niro delivered his best performance as American gangster and businessman Al Capone. Set in the early 1930s during Prohibition, the movie follows the story of U.S. Treasury Department Special Agent Eliot Ness’ attempts to arrest and convict Al Capone for his illegal smuggling of alcohol during Prohibition. However, well protected, Ness eventually gets Al Capone convicted of tax evasion, with the gangster receiving a sentence of 11 years in prison. The Untouchables (1987) grossed $106.2 million on a $25 million budget.
Cape Fear (1991)
Cape Fear (1991) was Robert De Niro’s seventh movie collaboration with Martin Scorsese. The film was a remake of the 1962 and starred Robert De Niro in the lead role as the convicted rapist Max Cady. De Niro delivered one of his best intense roles as Max Cady. One of his best performances in the film was at the end while singing the “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand” hymn and speaking in tongues as he drowns. Unsurprisingly, the performance earned him an Academy Awards nomination at the 64th Academy Awards.
Meet the Parents Franchise
Robert De Niro’s performance in the 2000 romantic comedy Meet the Parents proved his acting versatility. Having gone from playing Mafia figures and serious roles, De Niro began acting in several comedies as he grew older. De Niro played the overprotective, paranoid, retired CIA agent and Vietnam War veteran Jack Byrnes. Starring alongside Ben Stiller, the 2000 Meet the Parents spurred two sequels, Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010).
The Irishman (2019)
After his outstanding performance as Murray Franklin in Todd Phillips‘ Joker (2019), The Irishman (2019) was Robert De Niro’s second and last movie of 2019. Portraying Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran, De Niro starred alongside several veterans and top actors. These include Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, and Harvey Keitel. Besides playing the lead role, Robert De Niro was also one of The Irishman‘s (2019) producers.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Since he made his on-screen acting debut in 1965, Robert De Niro never retired from acting. The ever-busty actor starred in three films in 2023, including Martin Scorsese’s epic Western crime film Killers of the Flower Moon. An 80-year-old Robert De Niro portrayed political and crime boss William King Hale. The character, a historical figure, is known as the major perpetrator in the Osage Indian murders. William King Hale was later convicted and sentenced to prison. De Niro starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser. For his performance, Robert De Niro received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards.
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