7 Robert De Niro Movie Facts That Show The Actor Goes To The Extreme For His Roles

December 13, 2018

Robert De Niro has been gracing our TV screens for decades. The American actor and movie producer first captured many hearts with his role as young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974).

Not only did he gain millions of fans for that particular role, but he was also honored with his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

His subsequent movies have also won him a few more accolades like the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom which he received in 2016 from then-President Barack Obama.

Going the extra mile

De Niro is known for employing whatever means necessary (even going to extremes sometimes) to make sure he gave his best performance. Here are some of the ones that absolutely blew our minds.

1. The Godfather II

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For the role of Vito Corleone in the movie, De Niro actually learned to speak Sicilian to ensure he gave as perfect a performance as possible.

2. Taxi Driver

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The actor did not just read his lines to portray Bickle in the movie. He actually worked as a cab driver to immerse himself in his role.

3. Taxi Driver

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There was a scene in the movie where Bickle talked to himself in a mirror. This was not in the script. He was just supposed to look in the mirror.

4. Cape Fear

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De Niro actually paid someone to mess his teeth up for his role as Mad Max Cady. Afterwards, he shelled out even more money to get them fixed.

5. Raging Bull

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To play the professional boxer, Jake LaMotta, De Niro had boxing training almost daily. In fact, he often trained with LaMotta himself and it got so intense that the actor once broke the boxer's ribs and teeth.

6. Cape Fear

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For his role, De Niro also decided to undergo a total transformation which included getting a bunch of tattoos and working out to get those ripped muscles.

7. Raging Bull

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To play a much older version of Jake LaMotta, De Niro chose not to use makeup and prosthetics to give the effect of weight gain. Filming was halted for four months so he could gain the weight for real.

Awesome right? Now you can see exactly why he's known as a legend.