Trivia

He and Martin Scorsese were brought up blocks apart in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan, but never formally met when they were young. When introduced at a party in 1972, the two came to realize that they had seen each other many times but had never spoken.

Spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect in order to play Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974). Nearly all the dialogue that his character spoke in the movie was in Sicilian.

Was good friends with comedian John Belushi, who died of an overdose on March 5, 1982. In fact, Robert De Niro and Robin Williams were the last stars to see Belushi alive, albeit on separate visits to Bungalow #3 of L.A.'s Chateau Marmont hotel that fateful day. Robert De Niro visited Belushi at 3:00 am on the morning of his death, but, according to eyewitnesses, left minutes later after seeing that Belushi was sick. Less than an hour earlier, Belushi had been visited by Robin Williams, who also left straight away.

He was the one who first made Martin Scorsese aware of Leonardo DiCaprio. He had worked with DiCaprio on This Boy's Life (1993) and had been very impressed by his talent and spoke about him to his friend and frequent collaborator. Martin Scorsese and DiCaprio would later work together on many films.

He is the second actor to receive an Academy Award for portraying Vito Corleone. He and Marlon Brando were the first two actors to receive an Academy Award for playing the same character.

Growing up in the Little Italy section of New York City, his nickname was "Bobby Milk" because he was so thin and as pale as milk.

Accidentally broke a rib of Joe Pesci in a sparring scene in Raging Bull (1980). This shot appears in the film: Robert De Niro hits Joe Pesci in the side, he groaned, and there is a quick cut to another angle.

Formerly held the World Record for Most Weight Gained for a Movie, in gaining over 60 pounds for his role in Raging Bull (1980). But seven years later, Vincent D'Onofrio eclipsed him in gaining 70 pounds for his role in Full Metal Jacket (1987).

He was originally cast in the role of Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York (2002), but pulled out when he discovered this would mean spending six months in Europe and was replaced by Daniel Day-Lewis.

He was considered for the role of Harry Lime in Home Alone (1990), which went to his best friend Joe Pesci.

Rarely does interviews and is known as one of the most ultra-private celebrities. He was the subject of a late 1990s interview (and cover photo) for Esquire magazine. Most of the article focused on how guarded he is with his personal life, what few details are known about him, what rumors are speculated while only a minority of the article dealt with the actual interview itself. The writer noted that while the interview was ultimately agreed upon, he was given a substantial list of off-limit subjects not to ask Robert De Niro about. They included: politics, religion, his family, his reported interest in fine wines, and so on.

Only child of painter Virginia Admiral and abstract expressionist Robert De Niro Sr.. Despite being raised Presbyterian, Virginia was an atheist for most of Robert De Niro's childhood. Robert Sr. was raised Catholic but was not religious in any way. He eventually left home and came out as a homosexual, divorcing with Robert De Niro's mother. Robert De Niro was only two years old.

Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci are best friends. They appeared together in seven films: Raging Bull (1980), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), GoodFellas (1990), A Bronx Tale (1993), Casino (1995), The Good Shepherd (2006) and The Irishman (2019).

Has said that Meryl Streep is his favorite actress to work with.

Is one of five performers to win an Oscar playing a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language. The other are Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Roberto Benigni and Benicio Del Toro.

As of the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), Robert De Niro is the most represented actor, by 14 films. Included are the Robert De Niro films Mean Streets (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), 1900 (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1982), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Brazil (1985), The Untouchables (1987), GoodFellas (1990), Casino (1995), Heat (1995) and Meet the Parents (2000).

For the role of Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991), he paid a dentist $5,000 to make his teeth look suitably bad. After filming, he paid $20,000 to have them fixed. For this film, he was tattooed with vegetable dyes, which faded after a few months.

He first discovered his love for acting at age 10 when he portrayed the Cowardly Lion in a local production of "The Wizard of Oz". He dropped out of high school to join a gang.

After being caught up in a Paris prostitution ring investigation, he, denying any involvement, vowed never to return to France again (1998).

Became a father for the fifth time at age 68 when his daughter Helen Grace De Niro with second wife Grace Hightower was born via a surrogate in December 2011.

First performer to receive an Academy Award (for The Godfather Part II (1974)) for a performance in a sequel.

Unlike Marlon Brando, who preceded him as Don Vito Corleone, he actually has Italian ancestry in his background. He and Marlon Brando both have Dutch ancestry.

Limousine drivers in Los Angeles joke about his less than generous tips by referring to him as "No Dinero".

When they met shortly before making Mean Streets (1973) Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel became fast friends. Robert De Niro was from Greenwich Village in Manhattan and was taught by Stella Adler and Keitel was from the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn and was mainly mentored by Lee Strasberg. But the two guarded actors bonded and remain close to this day.

Speaks fluent Italian and French.

After marrying Diahnne Abbott he adopted her daughter Drena De Niro, Abbott's daughter from her previous marriage. Drena refuses to identify her biological father. He also has son Raphael De Niro born 1977with Abbott.

He based the movement of his character Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976) on that of a crab. He thought the character was indirect and tended to shift from side to side.

At age 17, after leaving the movies with a friend, he unexpectedly stated that he was going to be a film actor. No one believed him until he dropped out of his senior year of high school and joined Stella Adler's acting school.

Underwent surgery for prostate cancer at New York's Sloan-Kettering Hospital. The cancer has now gone into remission. (December 2003)

He started the whole "awards show ribbon" tradition by wearing a green ribbon on his lapel at the 1981 Academy Awards. The ribbon was in rememberance of several African-American children who were victims of a serial killer in Atlanta, Georgia in 1980-1981. The ribbon was given to him by a fan in the bleachers as he arrived; the victims' families had been wearing them for months.

In 1984, British pop group Bananarama had a song dedicated to him called "Robert De Niro's Waiting". Robert De Niro heard about this and arranged to meet the three girls, but they got so nervous, while waiting for him, that they got drunk before he even arrived.

Co-owns the Rubicon restaurant in San Francisco with Bay area residents Francis Ford Coppola and Robin Williams. Much of his father Robert De Niro Sr.'s art work adorns the walls of the business. He also owns a restaurant in West Hollywood, Ago, and co-owns several restaurants in New York, including Nobu (with stakeholders Nobu Matsuhisa and Meir Teper) and Layla. Since 1994, Robert De Niro, Matsuhisa and Teper have expanded to own over 40 restaurants and 18 hotels in North and South America, Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Read the book Raging Bull (1980) while filming The Godfather Part II (1974). His roles in both films would win him an Academy Award.

Was voted the No. #2 greatest movie star of all time in a Channel 4 (UK) poll, narrowly being beaten by Al Pacino.

President of the jury at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

He married his second wife Grace Hightower in 1997, and she gave birth to their son, Elliot De Niro on March 18, 1998. In 1999, the couple renewed marriage vows at their Ulster County farm in New York's Catskill Mountains, but later that year, Robert De Niro filed for divorce. Their fallout continued into 2001 as a potential custody battle over their son, Elliott, heated up. However, the divorce was never finalized and they managed to smooth over their troubles. Their second child was born in December 2011 via surrogate.

He visited Michael Jackson on the set of filming the "Smooth Criminal" segment for Moonwalker (1988). Also visiting the set was Gregory Peck, and Bruce Willis.

At the 31st AFI Life Achievement Awards, Jodie Foster credited Robert De Niro with introducing her to the true craft of acting. During production of Taxi Driver (1976), he would insist that they'd meet for coffee and rehearse their scenes from together at a local diner. After a while, Jodie became bored of the routine until Robert De Niro began improvising lines during their rehearsals. Jodie soon learned to follow his improv as he weaved back and forth to the original script, in essence teaching her how to effectively build a character.

Became a father for the second and third time at age 52 when his twins Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick De Niro with [now ex] partner Toukie Smith were born via a surrogate on October 20, 1995.

Became a father for the first time at age 33 when his [now ex] wife Diahnne Abbott gave birth to their son Raphael De Niro on November 9, 1976.

The Godfather (1972) predicts both of his Oscar-winning roles. In a scene with Vito Corleone, a poster advertising a Jake LaMotta fight can be seen.

Has the most films in the IMDB top 250 of any actor with 10 films represented. The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Raging Bull (1980), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), GoodFellas (1990), Casino (1995), Heat (1995), Joker (2019) and The Irishman (2019).

The longest he has gone without an Oscar nomination is 21 years, between Cape Fear (1991) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012).

First guest to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009) on March 2, 2009.

Although he is sometimes referred to as an Italian-American actor, Robert De Niro is actually one quarter Italian in ancestry. His father was of half Italian and half Irish descent. His mother was of Dutch, English, German, French and Irish ancestry on her own father's side, and of German ancestry on her own mother's side. Robert De Niro was quite close to his Italian paternal grandfather, whom he visited frequently in Syracuse, New York when he was young. Robert De Niro has stated that he identifies "more with [his] Italian side". He was inducted into the Italian-American Hall of Fame (2002).

He has appeared in eleven films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Godfather Part II (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Raging Bull (1980), The Mission (1986), GoodFellas (1990), Awakenings (1990), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013), Joker (2019) and The Irishman (2019). Only two ended up winning the category:The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Deer Hunter (1978).

After Once Upon a Time in America (1984), director Sergio Leone planning to cast Robert De Niro in a film he was working on about the siege of Leningrad in World War II, but that project never came about due to Leone's death in 1989.

Shares a birthday with friend and sometime-co-star Sean Penn.

He organized the first Tribeca Film Festival in May 2002. He intended to revitalize the Lower Manhattan area after the September 11 attacks.

His performance as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980) is ranked #10 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).