OVERLAY REPORT

The lead actor of **Taxi Driver** (1976) is **Robert De Niro**, who played the iconic role of Travis Bickle. With a career spanning over 60 years and more than 100 films, it is very likely you have seen him in many other projects. Below is a detailed list of his most notable films, categorized by the types of roles he is best known for. ### 1. The Martin Scorsese Collaborations De Niro is most famous for his long-term partnership with director Martin Scorsese. If you loved *Taxi Driver*, you have almost certainly seen these: * **Mean Streets (1973):** His breakout role as "Johnny Boy," a reckless small-time hood in Little Italy. * **Raging Bull (1980):** He won an **Oscar** for playing boxer Jake LaMotta. He famously gained 60 pounds for the later scenes in this film. * **The King of Comedy (1982):** He plays Rupert Pupkin, a delusional aspiring stand-up comedian who kidnaps a talk-show host. * **Goodfellas (1990):** He plays Jimmy "The Gent" Conway, the seasoned mentor to Henry Hill in this legendary mob epic. * **Cape Fear (1991):** He plays Max Cady, a tattooed, vengeful ex-convict stalking the lawyer who failed to defend him. * **Casino (1995):** He plays "Ace" Rothstein, a gambling expert sent to run a casino in Las Vegas for the mob. * **The Irishman (2019):** He plays Frank Sheeran, a truck driver who becomes a hitman for the Bufalino crime family. * **Killers of the Flower Moon (2023):** He plays William Hale, a powerful rancher involved in a conspiracy to murder members of the Osage Nation. ### 2. Iconic Crime & Gangster Roles Outside of Scorsese, De Niro is the "face" of the American gangster genre: * **The Godfather Part II (1974):** He won his first **Oscar** playing the young Vito Corleone (the role originated by Marlon Brando). * **Once Upon a Time in America (1984):** A sweeping epic where he plays "Noodles," a Jewish gangster in New York. * **The Untouchables (1987):** He plays a menacing Al Capone. * **Heat (1995):** Famous for the first-ever screen meeting between him and Al Pacino; he plays a master thief named Neil McCauley. * **A Bronx Tale (1993):** His directorial debut; he plays a bus driver trying to keep his son away from a charismatic mob boss. ### 3. Iconic Dramas & Thrillers * **The Deer Hunter (1978):** A haunting film about friends from a Pennsylvania steel town who go to the Vietnam War. * **Awakenings (1990):** He plays a catatonic patient who is temporarily "brought back to life" by a new drug (opposite Robin Williams). * **This Boy’s Life (1993):** He plays a cruel, abusive stepfather to a young Leonardo DiCaprio. * **Sleepers (1996):** He plays a neighborhood priest caught in a legal battle involving four boys who were abused in a detention center. * **Jackie Brown (1997):** Directed by Quentin Tarantino; he plays Louis Gara, a low-level criminal recently released from prison. * **Ronin (1998):** An action-thriller famous for its car chases; he plays an American mercenary. * **Joker (2019):** He plays Murray Franklin, a late-night talk show host (a nod to his role in *The King of Comedy*). ### 4. His "Comedy Era" (The 2000s Shift) In the late 90s, De Niro began parodying his "tough guy" image in major comedies: * **Analyze This (1999) & Analyze That (2002):** He plays a mob boss suffering from panic attacks who seeks help from a psychiatrist (Billy Crystal). * **Meet the Parents (2000), Meet the Fockers (2004), & Little Fockers (2010):** He plays Jack Byrnes, a retired CIA agent and overly protective father-in-law. * **The Intern (2015):** A gentler comedy where he plays a 70-year-old widower who becomes a "senior intern" for a fashion startup. ### 5. Other Notable Roles * **The Mission (1986):** He plays a 17th-century slave trader seeking penance in the South American jungle. * **Angel Heart (1987):** He plays a mysterious, sinister client named Louis Cyphre. * **Midnight Run (1988):** A classic "buddy" action-comedy where he plays a bounty hunter. * **Silver Linings Playbook (2012):** He plays Pat Sr., the gambling-addicted father of Bradley Cooper’s character. * **American Hustle (2013):** A brief but memorable cameo as a terrifying mob boss. **Fun Fact for Recognition:** Robert De Niro is known for his distinct "squint-and-frown" expression and his method acting. If you remember a character who was incredibly intense, spoke with a New York accent, or had a line like *"You talkin' to me?"* (from *Taxi Driver*) or *"I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?"* (from *Meet the Parents*), you were watching Robert De Niro.