De Niro

by John Parker

Robert De Niro is a young Sicilian immigrant, cool, vicious and slender who becomes the Godfather. He is a fighting-fit boxing champ who declines into a bloated has-been doing a third-rate act in a sleazy nightclub. He is a psychopathic New York taxi driver who arms himself to the hilt, utters the classic line 'You talking to me?' and embarks on a bloodbath. He is the shy, ruthless movie mogul of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon. Method actor par excellence, De Niro researches each role in fanatical detail, undergoing a metamorphosis in mind and body for each eating vast portions of pasta every day to gain 65lbs for Raging Bull; learning to play the tenor saxophone for New York, New York; living in a mental hospital for Awakenings; or working in a steel mill to prepare for The Deer Hunter. Critics have accused De Niro's technique of being impersonation rather than acting. Bertolucci suggested that he probably became an actor so he could hide behind his roles, finding fulfilment by becoming other people.
Outside his film roles De Niro has remained an enigma. Ever media-shy, he has confounded journalists with his refusal to give interviews, and with his edgy inarticulacy at rare press conferences. He is notoriously reluctant to discuss both his work and his private life, which has included liaisons with supermodels Naomi Campbell and Toukie Smith and marriage to the beautiful black actress Diahnne Abbott. De Niro is even something of an outsider to mainstream directors have found his perfectionism unmanageable, while he has tended to turn down huge pay-cheques in favour of less lucrative but more artistically challenging projects.
Now, with the help of many of De Niro's friends and colleagues, John Parker has produced the first major biography of De Niro, delving deeply into the life and work of a uniquely dedicated, obsessive actor who has been hailed as the greatest screen talent of our day.

255 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

John Parker is a former Fleet Street editor who has written many investigative books.

Reviews

[James Phelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bit old, so you'll only get insights into the legend's life up to Heat, but it's informative and worth a look.

[Kathleen Meacham · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very difficult read.