Describe Robert De Niro in one word

De Niro Goes So Method He Learned Sax And Gained 50 Pounds
Photo: United Artists

If you’re wondering why all of De Niro’s most famous characters are so brutally intense, it’s because he applies Stella Adler’s acting method to everything he does, whether it’s gaining weight for a role, learning how to shoot, or playing the saxophone.

For Taxi Driver, De Niro went to a gun range regularly, and for his Oscar-winning turn as Jake La Motta in Raging Bull, he spent a year in the ring before trashing his sinewy physique by gorging on pasta and ice cream, gaining 50 pounds for the final portion of the film. He once said, “I feel I have to earn the right to play a part.”

Liza Minnelli remembers De Niro’s work ethic while filming New York, New York. “I’d leave the studio around twelve midnight, and I could hear the wail of a saxophone. As a musician he was fabulous. That’s the way he found the character—through the music. That’s the way he put it together.”

He Doesn’t Know How to Drive (At Least He Didn’t In 1970, At 27)
He Doesn’t Know How to Drive (At Least He Didn’t In 1970, At 27)
Photo: Columbia Pictures
While filming the Roger Corman film Bloody Mama, De Niro was meant to drive like a maniac through a field in Arkansas. In the finished product, you see the first take of the scene, because everyone was too scared to film a second. In 1987, Shelly Winters explained to Vanity Fair: “In one scene he had to drive us in this car. The cameras roll. Suddenly we’re careening around this field, and it’s like he’s out of control at the wheel. I whispered, ‘Bobby, do you know how to drive?’ and he grinned. ‘Are you kidding? I’m from New York. Why would I know how to drive?’”