Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro, born in 1943, American motion-picture actor, often hailed as one of the most brilliant of his generation. The son of two artists, De Niro was born in New York City and trained at two of the city's acting studios, the Stella Adler Conservatory and the American Workshop.

De Niro's initial film roles were in movies by American director Brian De Palma. De Niro first won acclaim in Hollywood for his role as a slow-witted, dying baseball player in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), but his reputation has thrived on volatile roles such as his riveting portrayal of a dangerous hoodlum in Mean Streets (1973), the film that marked the beginning of his sustained collaboration with director Martin Scorsese.

De Niro earned an Academy Award for best supporting actor in The Godfather II (1974) and Oscar nominations for best actor for his roles in Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), and Cape Fear (1991). He won the 1974 Oscar for best supporting actor for an almost entirely Italian-speaking role as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II. He won the Academy Award for best actor in Raging Bull (1980). De Niro's other films include New York, New York (1977), The King of Comedy (1983), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Brazil (1985), The Untouchables (1987), Midnight Run (1988), The Mission (1989), GoodFellas (1990), Guilty by Suspicion (1991), Night and the City (1992), Mad Dog and Glory (1993), This Boy's Life (1993), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Heat (1995), and Casino (1995). De Niro heads a production company, Tribeca Film Center, and he made his directorial debut with A Bronx Tale (1993).