The first movie I saw where it convinced me I could be an actor was 'Mean Streets,' so whenever I see Robert De Niro and he says, 'Hi, Denis,' it's still a really big deal.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I saw 'Taxi Driver,' and 'Taxi Driver' kind of saved my life. The scene where Robert De Niro is looking at himself in the mirror saying, 'You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Who the hell else are you talkin' to?' That's the scene that changed my life by changing my attitude about acting.
Like De Niro. He's one of the best character actors we have ever had.
I remember the first time I saw Robert De Niro at a party. I didn't want to run over and shake his hand. I wanted to admire him from a distance. Later, I ended up making a movie with him, and that was fantastic.
When I was growing up and somebody like Robert De Niro had a movie come out, it was a cultural event. Because he had such a confidence and a single mission that was so intimate.
Of course, De Niro has had a long history of memorable performances. Everyone knows 'Taxi Driver' and 'Raging Bull,' but 'Awakenings' really did something for me.
I looked at early movies with Robert Redford, and I like how Robert, even though he had that automatic charisma and was a very verbal person, he always played those more silent characters and played within the scene and never overacted.
There are many brilliant actors, including our own Dilip Kumar, but Robert de Niro is something else.
'Taxi Driver' is a movie that changed my life and made me a serious actor. Scorsese and De Niro. I give credit for anything that I've ever done as an actor.
'The Naked Civil Servant' was as important for me as 'Easy Rider' was for Jack Nicholson. No question.
I'm a De Niro fan. I went eleven years without seeing a movie; the last one before that, February 1980, was De Niro and Scorsese in 'Raging Bull,' and when I went back, it was 'Cape Fear,' with De Niro and Scorsese. I picked up right where I left off at.