Robert Anthony De Niro is one of the best American actors of the modern day. He is well known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese. His work on the films Mean Streets, Goodfellas, and Casino received critical acclaim. In addition to his acting career, he also paints.
Early life
Robert De Niro is one of the most successful American actors of all time. He has starred in a wide range of films from comedies to dramas. His acting abilities have earned him praise and awards. But, as with many of his contemporaries, he was not born into a rich family. Instead, he was raised by his parents, who were artists.
Robert De Niro grew up in Greenwich Village, New York. He made his acting debut at age 10, when he played the Cowardly Lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. After a brief period, he attended Elisabeth Irwin High School in Manhattan. From there, he studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting.
De Niro also studied at the Dramatic Workshop in Manhattan and the McBurney School. He later enrolled at the Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio. During his early years, he was a shy and reserved kid. In addition to playing minor roles, he also drove a taxi.
When he was in high school, he dropped out to study acting. Initially, he studied at the High School of Music and Art, a school that specializes in performance arts. However, he dropped out after a few days.
As a teenager, he landed his first big role in Brian De Palma’s Greetings in 1968. After that, he started appearing in dinner theaters and television commercials. At the same time, he studied Method acting under Stella Adler.
He appeared in a number of minor films in the late 1960s, but was quickly cast in major roles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He subsequently forged a strong relationship with Martin Scorsese.
De Niro received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Godfather Part II. In 1990, he appeared in Scorsese’s Goodfellas, which was considered the best crime movie of all time.
Acting career
Robert De Niro’s acting career has spanned several decades. His first big break came in 1973 when he starred in the film ‘Mean Streets’. In the film, De Niro played a reckless young man who has a bad reputation in New York City.
Robert De Niro has appeared in numerous popular films throughout the years. He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor five times. For example, he received nominations for the films Taxi Driver (1976), Awakenings (1990), and Silver Linings Playbook (2012).
Before his breakthrough as a leading actor in ‘Mean Streets’, De Niro had a number of minor roles in films such as The Last Tycoon and This Boy’s Life. Despite these minor role, his acting skills were praised and he gained critical acclaim.
After his success in ‘Mean Streets’, he teamed up with director Martin Scorsese on a number of movies. One of these was ‘The Godfather: Part II’, which earned him two Academy Awards.
De Niro starred in a number of other films, including ‘A Bronx Tale’ and ‘Meet the Parents’. Both of these films spawned sequels.
In ‘The Godfather: Part II’, he played the role of Vito Corleone. ‘The Godfather’ was a huge box office hit. It earned $193 million.
As an actor, De Niro has been nominated for a total of seven awards. Among these, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ‘Raging Bull.
Since then, De Niro has been known to play various kinds of characters. He has also made cameos in different movies. Some of his best films include ‘Bang the Drum’, ‘The Godfather: Part II’, and ‘Rent’.
Painting career
Robert De Niro is an important member of the New York School of painters, particularly in the mid-1940s. His paintings are highly expressive, with a distinctive brand of painterly representation. He was a pioneer in the use of color, and his work shows a friction between abstraction and reality.
Born in Syracuse, NY in 1922, De Niro began his painting career at an early age. His Irish mother encouraged his interest in art, and he enrolled in adult art classes at the Syracuse Museum of Art.
By the time he was twenty-four, De Niro had his first solo exhibition at the Peggy Guggenheim Art of This Century Gallery in New York City. There, his paintings were displayed alongside Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, two of the most influential Abstract Expressionists of the twentieth century.
Though Robert De Niro’s art did not achieve the kind of commercial success that other artists of his time did, his works were included in numerous museum collections. During his career, his work was reviewed in many respected art publications.
In 1968, De Niro was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1974, he was given a visiting artist’s position at Michigan State University. His paintings were also purchased by Joseph Hirshhorn. The works are now in the permanent collection of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC.
As a postwar American artist, De Niro’s art helped to bridge the gap between European Modernism and Abstract Expressionism. He was one of the few painters of the day who embraced the gestural brushstrokes of the Cubists. Despite the influence of these movements, his paintings still maintained figural references.
De Niro’s paintings have been exhibited in major museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. Throughout his life, he received a variety of critical praise, including a Newsweek article in 1999 that described him as “one of the most original and powerful younger painters.”
Collaborations with Scorsese
Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are two of the greatest director-actor duos of all time. They have collaborated on eight films in the last 25 years. Although some of their works are better known than others, some of their most underrated movies deserve a closer look.
The first collaboration between the two was Mean Streets. This film follows a low-level gangster in New York. It was written by Paul Schrader, who went on to co-write other Scorsese favorites.
After working together on seven other films, the two took a break for almost a decade. But in 1990, they returned with GoodFellas. With a budget of around $250 million, this film received universal praise for its performances and visuals. In addition to winning five BAFTAs, it also won the Oscar for Best Director.
Their next collaboration, Killers of the Flower Moon, explores the conflicting balance between career and relationships. As a complex musician, De Niro plays a complicated man.
Some of their most well-known works are classics, such as Raging Bull and The Aviator. Others, such as The Wedding Party and Midnight Run, are more obscurities. Still, there is something to be said for the way they approach their work.
Throughout their careers, the two have produced eight features, most of which are in the top 250 IMDb movies. Of these, four are Scorsese and De Niro collaborations. For more information on these films, check out their Wikipedia page.
The duo is set to return to the big screen in 2019, with The Irishman. Currently, there are four movies in the IMDb top 250. However, none of these are Scorsese and De Niro’s most recent works.
Personal life
Robert De Niro is a popular and award-winning actor who has had a successful career in many films. He has also been nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Raging Bull (1980).
Robert De Niro was born on September 4, 1960 in New York City, New York. His father was Robert Anthony De Niro, a sculptor, and his mother was Virginia Admiral, a gifted painter. From a young age, De Niro’s parents raised him with love and a healthy dose of discipline. In fact, his parents were very protective of him.
When he was younger, De Niro attended an exclusive New York high school. However, he dropped out of the school before graduation. At age sixteen, he studied acting with Stella Adler. After studying with her, De Niro went on to work with many renowned film directors. This included director Martin Scorsese.
As an adult, Robert De Niro has been married twice. He first married actress and singer Diahnne Abbott in 1976. They were married for twelve years. However, the couple split in 1988. Then, they reunited in 2004. Before their separation, the couple had two children, Raphel and Drena.
During their marriage, De Niro had an affair with supermodel Toukie Smith. She was his surrogate mother, who helped de Niro have twin sons. Through in vitro preparation, the two boys were conceived. Their names are Julian and Aaron. These twins lead a quiet life as adults.
In addition to his acting career, De Niro has been a co-owner of several upscale restaurants in Manhattan. Among them, he owns Nobu, Tribeca Grill, and the Greenwich Hotel.
In 2016, De Niro was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Also, he received an Academy Award for his performance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather: Part II.
