Stephen Graham shared the screen with Robert De Niro in the 2019 crime epic The Irishman. This was a big moment in his career as he has stated on many occasions that De Niro is one of his biggest inspirations. In 2025, the Kirkby-born thespian is enjoying a wealth of praise for his lead role in Netflix’s Adolescence, a mini-series in which he also serves as co-creator.
While promoting the series, Stephen Graham and his young co-star Owen Cooper featured on The One Show, alongside Robert De Niro who was promoting his new gangster movie, The Alto Knights. During the show, Graham expressed his adoration for De Niro, explained how he served as early inspiration for his acting career. Thanking De Niro from the bottom of his heart, Graham explained how there were 3 core movies that lit a fire in his belly. So, let’s explore these iconic movies.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
When Stephen Graham listed the three Robert De Niro movies that inspired him as a young boy, he firstly mentioned The Godfather. However, considering De Niro wasn’t in the first movie, Graham was likely referring to The Godfather Part II, the Oscar-winning sequel. Interestingly, De Niro actually auditioned for the role of Sonny Corleone in the first movie but that part went to James Caan. By the time the writing process had begun for The Godfather Part II, De Niro was already in the minds of Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo thanks to his role in Mean Streets.
Although The Godfather Part II was not as succesful at the box office compared to the first film, it garnered a wealth of praise from critics, winning 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for De Niro. Switching between two separate storylines, this iconic picture saw De Niro star as the younger Vito Corleone (originally played by Marlon Brando) as he rises to power in 1920s New York City. The other half of the story saw Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) tighten his grip on his criminal empire while navigating growing tensions and deception both in and out of his syndicate. While both actors shined in their roles, it was arguably De Niro who stole the show as the young Vito.
To prepare for his rendition, De Niro studied Sicilian at a language school as well as privately with linguist Romano Pianti. He also spent time living in Sicily, interacting with the locals and immersing himself into the culture. This was pivotal as his role largely consisted of Sicilian dialect, with only a few scenes seeing him speak in English. It goes without saying that this paid off, and The Godfather Part II placed him into the big leagues, setting the path for a prosperous career that would see him win another Oscar for his role in Raging Bull.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Stephen Graham first worked with Martin Scorsese in 2002 with The Gangs of New York, an incredible achievement seeing as he found inspiration from his films in his early years, particularly Taxi Driver. In his interview on The One Show, Graham explained how his father took him to a video store to rent three movies that would motivate him to act. Taxi Driver was on this list.
Now widely considered to be one of the best movies ever made, at the time, it was somewhat controversial. The plot follows Travis Bickle (De Niro), a mentally unstable war veteran who works the night shift as a taxi driver in New York. As his PTSD takes him on a downward spiral, he begins to despise the streets to which he drives at night. After befriending a young prostitute named Iris (played by Jodie Foster), this sets in motion a chain of events that lead to a horrific, bloody showdown. Taxi Driver was one of the last anti-hero movies before the 80s became all about larger-than-life action heroes like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead of being an action-packed vigilante movie, Scorsese and De Niro delivered much more of a grim character study of a man slowly descending into madness. The film was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role for De Niro.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Deer Hunter came at an exciting time in Robert De Niro’s career when he was becoming known as possibly the best actor of his generation. To make the movie even grander, De Niro shared the screen with a wealth of rising stars of the time, including Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage, and Meryl Streep. Michael Cimino‘s slow-burn drama is a brutal look at war, specifically exploring the horrors of the Vietnam War as well as the impacts it has on not only the soldiers, but their loved ones.
The Deer Hunter is told in three parts. Focusing on three friends from a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania, the film charts their pre-war camaraderie, the horrors of the battle, and the lasting footprint on their lives. To that, the film deftly blends between dialogue-heavy character building, intense action, and poignant introspective. Yet again, De Niro was nominated for an Oscar for his immersive leading role, while Christopher Walken took home the gold for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The film was nominated for a total of 9 Academy Awards in 1979 and rose triumphant in 5 categories, including the coveted Best Picture award. So, it is no surprise that this movie struck a major note with Stephen Graham. Today, it is widely regarded as one of the best war movies ever made and was named the 53rd-greatest American film of all time by the American Film Institute in 2007.
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