Robert De Niro’s three favourite movies
As one of the greatest actors ever to walk the Hollywood red carpet, Robert De Niro is an icon of the movie industry, known for his maverick method acting antics and fervent on-screen performances. Widely celebrated for his roles in the Martin Scorsese films Taxi Driver, The King of Comedy and Goodfellas, De Niro has also enjoyed further success working with the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, Brian De Palma and many more.
Having worked with Scorsese on ten different occasions, most recently in the ‘Best Picture’ nominee Killers of the Flower Moon, the director considers De Niro a veteran of performance, even going so far as to call him “the greatest actor of his generation”.
Continuing, he added that De Niro’s “creative impact in acting will always be felt so long as there are actors to express their art,” with the director clearly thankful for his longtime collaboration with the star.
While on-screen, he often takes on the roles of outspoken, confident individuals. In reality, he prefers to keep himself to himself, rarely revealing information about his personal life. As a purveyor of classic cinema, however, the actor hasn’t been able to totally avoid the limelight, once revealing his favourite actors of all time in an interview with Kenneth Branagh, listing the likes of Marlon Brando, James Dean and Kim Stanley.
His passion for hard-hitting cinematic performances is clearly reflected in his own favourite movies, too, with the actor telling The Golden Globes that his personal picks involve two of the aforementioned actors, Marlon Brando and James Dean. In a feature that lists celebrity’s favourite films, the celebrated industry association revealed that Robert De Niro chose East of Eden, On the Waterfront and Rebel Without a Cause as his personal preferences.
Both East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause star the iconic James Dean, an actor who significantly influenced the style and attitude of a mid-century youth with his counter-cultural attitudes. Only starring in three movies throughout his entire career, Dean’s career was a flash in the pan, coming just as quickly as it disappeared, with the star tragically dying in a car crash at the age of 24.
Released in the same year, it was Rebel Without a Cause that would later become inextricably linked with the roguish personality of Dean, who took on the mood of the character suggested in the title. Telling the story of a young man with a troubled past who attempts to assimilate into a new town, the film steadily strips away the layers of the central character to reveal a vulnerable core beneath.
Despite only starring in three movies, Dean made a remarkable impact on Hollywood, receiving two posthumous Oscar nominations for East is Eden and 1956’s Giant, largely thanks to his novel method acting style. Dedicating himself physically and emotionally to each of his characters, Dean managed to make a significant impression on the industry, opening the door for other performers to follow in his footsteps.
Marlon Brando, meanwhile, was the star that Dean was always meant to be. A maverick artist dedicated to his craft, his performance in De Niro’s beloved On the Waterfront went on to have a significant impact on 20th-century cinema with his influential method acting tactics earning him two Academy Awards in his later career while inspiring a whole new generation of burgeoning young stars.
Clearly influenced by both stars in his own acting style, De Niro discussed the power of both performers later in his aforementioned interview with Branagh, with the actor noting: “When you saw James Dean do East of Eden, he was great, but you can’t do what he could do. Brando with On the Waterfront or A Streetcar Named Desire are considered the great performances of that time and still are”.
Robert De Niro’s three favourite movies:
- East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955)
- On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)
- Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955)
