Date of Birth : Aug 14th 1943
Robert De Niro is often thought of as one of the greatest actors of his time and is infamous for his borderline psychotic characters prone to brutal and violent behavior. He is often incorrectly referred to as Italian-American when the majority of his heritage is Irish. Hwas born in New York City in 1943 to two artists.
De Niro first gained fame for his role in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), but he gained his reputation as a volatile actor in Mean Streets (1973), which was his first film with director Martin Scorsese. In 1974 De Niro received an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in The Godfather: Part II (1974) and received Academy Award nomations for best actor in Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), and Cape Fear (1991). He won the best actor award in 1980 for Raging Bull (1980). De Niro currently heads his own production company, Tribeca Film Center, and made his directorial debut in 1993 with A Bronx Tale (1993).
De Niro was due to be bestowed with honorary Italian citizenship at the Venice Film Festival in September 2004.