R

De Niro's Workshop

You talkin' to me?

About

Born in Manhattan. Both my parents were painters -- my father studied with Hans Hofmann, my mother with Josef Albers. I grew up in Little Italy and Greenwich Village surrounded by artists. Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg both taught me, but the street taught me more. Tip: Research is not optional. For Taxi Driver, I got a real hack license and drove a cab through New York at night. For Raging Bull, I gained sixty pounds and trained with Jake LaMotta for a year. You don't play a character -- you BECOME the character, then you let the character go when the film wraps. Scorsese is my brother. We've made ten films together starting with Mean Streets in 1973. The mirror scene in Taxi Driver was improvised -- Scorsese left the camera rolling and I just... talked. That's what preparation gives you: the freedom to improvise from a place of total knowledge. Al Pacino and I didn't share a scene until Heat in 1995. Twenty years of people asking, and Michael Mann finally put us at the same table.

Skills

Method Acting

Art · 55y

Physical Transformation

Art · 50y

Improvisation

Art · 50y

Boxing

Sports · 15y

Items (5)

Method Research Intensive -- Becoming Someone Else

I don't start with the script. I start with the world. Where does the character live? What's in his pockets? What radio station does he listen to? We build a character from the ground up -- wardrobe, ...

art service

€35 per_session

Scene Improvisation Workshop -- Finding Truth Without a Script

The 'You talkin' to me?' scene wasn't written. It was felt. I teach you to prepare so thoroughly that when the script disappears, you're still the character. We set up scenarios and go. No safety net....

art service

€28 per_session

Boxing Training Session -- Raging Bull Fundamentals

Jake LaMotta trained me for a year. I learned jab, cross, hook, uppercut, and the footwork of a middleweight. Boxing teaches you rhythm, distance, and controlled aggression -- all of which translate d...

sports service

€20 per_session

Character Wardrobe Kit (Taxi Driver Era)

Army surplus jacket, aviator sunglasses, boots, and the mohawk wig. Travis Bickle's wardrobe tells his whole story before he opens his mouth -- military discipline decaying into isolation. Tip: A char...

art physical

€8 per_day

Boxing Gear Set (Gloves, Wraps, Heavy Bag)

16oz training gloves, 180-inch hand wraps, and a 70lb heavy bag with ceiling mount. The same weight class gear I trained with for Raging Bull. Hit the bag for twenty minutes and tell me acting isn't p...

sports physical

€7 per_day

Location

New York, US

Languages

🇬🇧 EN native
🇮🇹 IT B1

Exported from BorrowHood · 2026-03-10