No De Niro, no DiCaprio, no problem: The unsung actors who helped Martin Scorsese build a legacy
It’s one of the most obvious statements in cinema to say that Martin Scorsese has quite clearly anointed Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio as his two favourite onscreen collaborators, making them the onscreen equivalent of his trusted associate, lucky charm, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Between them, De Niro and DiCaprio appeared in 14 of Scorsese’s first 25 features, finally uniting on the 26th when they were both cast in Killers of the Flower Moon. It had been a long time coming, even if it felt inevitable that the legendary director would eventually bring the two stars who’ve defined him more than most together.
That powerhouse pairing is embedded firmly as the crown jewels in Scorsese’s casting crown, but the second tier isn’t too bad either. Joe Pesci earned an Academy Award nomination for Raging Bull, went one better and took home a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ Oscar for Goodfellas, put his ferocious charisma to phenomenal use in Casino, and came out of semi-retirement for The Irishman.
Similarly, Harvey Keitel goes way back with Scorsese, all the way to his 1967 debut Who’s That Knocking At My Door, before going on to lend support in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, and The Irishman. All four are legends, but let’s not forget about the unsung heroes who were there when the filmmaker was carving out a legacy.
Even the most ardent of cinephiles would struggle to pick Gary Basaraba out of a lineup, but he was right there when Scorsese courted the most controversy of his career, playing the apostle Andrew in The Last Temptation of Christ. He was completely absent until he was brought back into the fold for The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon, letting him in on the ground floor as Marty embraced the streaming age.
Frank Vincent was an Italian-American actor who looked like he could have been a mobster in another life, which was exactly how Scorsese saw him, too. He was right there in Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Casino, three films that comfortably sit among the top tier of a back catalogue bursting with greatness.
Scorsese was virtually unknown when he cast Victor Argo in the Roger Corman-backed Boxcar Bertha, but by the time he worked with the auteur for the last time on The Last Temptation of Christ – by way of Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, and After Hours – he was well established as one of modern cinema’s foremost purveyors of on-screen excellence.
Much the same can be said of Harry Northup, who didn’t even earn a character name for the most part. Yet, he became a key part of Scorsese’s lasting legacy by contributing to all of the director’s first six features, placing him at the beginning of the director’s ascension despite being credited with such unmemorable roles as ‘Soldier’, ‘Bartender’, and New York, New York‘s Alabama.
Basaraba, Vincent, Argo, and Northup have been there in one way or another for every significant evolution Scorsese has undergone during his six-decade stint wielding the megaphone, without enjoying a fraction of the spotlight or fame as De Niro or DiCaprio.
