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Sunday 14 September 2014

Robert De Niro

Robert Anthony De Niro was born in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan, New York on August 17, 1943.

His father, Robert De Niro Sr. was a noted abstract Expressionist artist, and his mother was a painter. Later, his father came out as gay.

At the age of 10, Robert De Niro played the Lion in a local production of the Wizard of Oz.

As a boy his nickname was 'Bobby Milk', after his pale skinny frame.

He dropped out of high school to pursue acting. He studied with legendary teachers Stella and Lee Strasberg.

Robert De Niro is known for his dedication to his craft and for going to great lengths to prepare for his roles. He spent $20,000 for a dentist to mess up his teeth for his role as a villain in the film, Cape Fear. He then paid even more to have them fixed after the movie was finished.

Robert De Niro gained 60lb (27kg) and trained as a boxer for a year to play Jake LaMotto in Raging Bull.

He prepared for his role in Taxi Driver by obtaining a New York taxi license and spending a month working up to 14 hour shifts picking people up all over New York.

De Niro ate pancakes every morning and went to Italy on an eating tour to gain weight to play Al Capone in The Untouchables.

Robert De Niro learned to play the saxophone for his role in New York, New York.

Bananarama, who had a hit in 1984 with "Robert De Niro is Waiting," had themselves to wait when De Niro, a fan of the song, set up a meeting. They were so nervous they got steaming drunk before he turned up.

De Niro at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. By Georges Biard Wikipedia

Among the many film scripts the famously picky actor turned down was The Last Temptation of Christ, in which he was offered the role of Jesus. But he was happy to appear on Ricky Gervais' comedy show, Extras, during a break in the filming of the 2007 movie Stardust.

In 2004, Robert De Niro was set to receive Italian citizenship from the Italian government. However, the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), a large Italian-American organization, objected to the plan, claiming that De Niro had damaged the public image of Italians by portraying criminals in his movies.

The OSIA specifically cited De Niro's roles in films such as The Godfather and Goodfellas as evidence of his negative portrayal of Italians. The group argued that De Niro's films had contributed to the stereotype of Italians as being criminals and mobsters. In the end, De Niro was granted Italian citizenship. 

Source Mail on Sunday

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