Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro was born on August 17, 1943 in Manhattan, New York, United States. He is an American actor and producer and the son of Virginia Admiral, a painter and poet and Robert De Niro, Sr., an abstract expressionist painter and sculptor. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his mother. He attended PS 41 public elementary school in Manhattan and after 6th grade went to Elisabeth Irwin High School and then High School of Music and Art. He began high school at the private McBurney School and later attended the private Rhodes Preparatory School but could not complete graduation. At the age of 10, he made his stage debut in Cowardly Lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. He dropped out of high school at age 16. He studied acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory, as well as Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. His film debut was Brian De Palma's 1963 film The Wedding Party, which could not be released until 1969. In 1970, he appeared in Roger Corman's film Bloody Mama. In 1973, he played the role of a dying Major League Baseball player in Bang the Drum Slowly and also appeared as small-time criminal Johnny Boy in Mean Streets. In 1974, he appeared in the Francis Ford Coppola film The Godfather Part II. His performance earned him his first Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actor. He and Scorsese have a successful working relationship and worked together in films such as Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1983), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991) and Casino (1995). in "Taxi Driver" his iconic performance as Travis Bickle catapulted earned him his first Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor. In 1976, he was cast in The Last Tycoon, directed by Elia Kazan. He played Michael Vronsky in the Vietnam War film "The Deer Hunter" in 1978 and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. His other successful films are Brazil (1985), Midnight Run (1988), Analyze This (1999), Meet the Parents (2000), and Meet the Fockers (2004). Other films include True Confessions (1981), Falling in Love (1984), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Mission (1986), Angel Heart (1987), The Untouchables (1987), Goodfellas (1990), Awakenings (1990), Heat (1995), The Fan (1996), Sleepers (1996), Wag the Dog (1997), Jackie Brown (1997), Ronin (1998) and Flawless (1999). He was also the President of the Jury at the 15th Moscow International Film Festival, 1987. In 2000, he appeared as Master Chief Billy Sunday in the biographical film Men of Honor. In 2002, he also hosted a documentary about the 9/11 attacks. He reprised his role as Jack Byrnes in Meet the Fockers in 2004 and was featured in Stardust in 2007. All of the films were successful at the box office. In 2010, he appeared as Senator John McLaughlin in the action film Machete and also starred in the thriller film Stone. In 2011, he appeared in the action films Killer Elite, Limitless and the romantic comedy film New Year's Eve. He was also the President of the Jury for the 64th Cannes Film Festival, 2011. He received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Silver Linings Playbook. On April 8, 2015, he revealed that he'll play Enzo Ferrari in a movie to be released in 2016.