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since the seventies, Robert De Niro He has been in a wide variety of films, giving memorable performances that are still under consideration to this day. De Niro has been nominated eight times at the Academy Awards. Five times in the Best Actor category, twice in the Best Supporting Actor category, and once in the Best Picture category as a producer. Among those nominations, he has taken home the Golden Statue twice.
Some of the films for which he was nominated are on many major critics’ lists of the greatest films ever made. His work in movies like taxi driver And Raging Bull Unforgettable for fans after more than 40 years. The pairing of De Niro and director Martin Scorsese makes up four of his eight nominations. Outside of that, he has worked with the likes of David O. Russell and Francis Ford Coppola in two very different films, giving performances that captivate audiences. Here are the eight Oscar-nominated performances by Robert De Niro.
8 The Awakening (1990)
Penny Marshall movie getting up De Niro pairs with Robin Williams as a patient and a doctor. De Niro plays a character by the name of Leonard Lowe. One man among many in the hospital remains catatonic until Doctor Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) discovers a drug that slowly begins to awaken patients from their coma. De Niro leads the way in a heartfelt performance matched by a dramatic early role from Williams. He would, however, be nominated for a golden statuette at the Academy Awards that year, with the Best Actor award going to Jeremy Irons for his role in Reflection of wealth.
7 Cape Fear (1991)
The following year, Robert De Niro was nominated for Best Actor again in the Martin Scorsese remake Cape Fear. De Niro takes on the role of serial sex offender Max Cady. After being released from prison, Cady begins stalking and terrorizing the family of the lawyer who put him behind bars. Cape Fear It feels like an homage to the classic thrillers of the ’50s and ’60s, just like its original film, which starred Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. De Niro is intimidating in the role, but at times he can feel like some of the typical bad guys you see in thrillers. He would lose out again at the Academy Awards that year to Anthony Hopkins for his iconic role as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs.
6 Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Robert De Niro received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2012 for his role in The Movie silver linings playbooka movie in which he played the character Pat Solitano Sr. written and directed by David O. Russell, silver linings playbook The film is about a man who comes home and looks to rebuild his love and family life after being hospitalized for a mental illness. The movie is known for Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence’s amazing performance. However, De Niro plays Cooper’s father in the film, and he gives a performance that borders on tears at times when the father tries to guide his son through a turbulent time. He would lose Best Supporting Actor that year to Christoph Waltz Django Unchained.
5 Movie The Irishman (2019)
For a change of pace, Robert De Niro will already be nominated in the 2019 Best Picture category irish. He was one of the producers of the film, along with director Martin Scorsese. The film is a poignant morality tale that deals with the overall end game of a life of crime. It’s worth noting that despite not being nominated for Best Actor as Frank Sheeran in the film, the journey De Niro takes us through his performance is powerful and leaves you with plenty of existential dread by the time the credits roll.
4 The Deer Hunter (1978)
EMI Films
Robert De Niro will receive a Best Actor nomination for Michael Cimino’s Vietnam War drama, Deer hunter. The film has been hailed as one of the greatest Vietnam War films of all time. In it, De Niro plays Mike Vronsky, an army sergeant major. The film is about the Vietnam War but focuses more on the aftermath of life after the war and the stress of post-traumatic stress. De Niro will lose out to Jon Voight in that year’s Best Actor category at the Academy Awards for his role in a similar drama, Post-Vietnam. Go home.
3 Taxi Driver (1976)
Playing New York City taxi driver Travis Bickle, De Niro would earn an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in Martin Scorsese’s new classic, taxi driver. He would forfeit the prize to Peter Finch network. Travis Bickle is a Vietnam veteran all alone in the Big Apple. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and insomnia, and finds himself fed up with the inner workings of society and the crime-ridden streets of New York. It’s an incredible commentary on 1970s America and serves as a template for films that are character studies of people on the brink of madness.
2 The Godfather Part Two (1974)
The Godfather: Part Two It will be Robert De Niro’s first Oscar win. Playing a young Vito Corleone in the sequel to the original from two years earlier, De Niro would go up against Best Supporting Actor that year. Which made him and Marlon Brando Oscar winners for playing the same character. We meet Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in the sequel, as he inherits his father’s criminal organization and begins to deal with the problems that arise within him. As we follow his journey, we’re given flashbacks to his father, Vito (De Niro), when he was a young man. We take a peek at the father and son at different times in their lives.
Comparisons are a thing of cinematic beauty that also gives us a sense of melancholy. The Godfather Part Two It would also take home the best movie of that year and not only would it become the best sequel of all time but be mentioned in the discussion of the best movies of all time.
1 Raging Bull (1980)
Robert De Niro will win Best Actor for his role as boxer Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese’s film, Raging Bull. The film is a collision of Scorsese’s stunning cinematic language and one of De Niro’s greatest performances of all time. The physical transformation of getting into the best shape of his life to play a young LaMotta and then gaining 60 pounds to play an older, oversized LaMotta is a testament to De Niro’s dedication to his craft.
The movie is more of a character study than a boxing-focused sports movie. It is about a man’s self-destruction. Jake LaMotta’s horrific violence that he uses in the ring to beat up his opponents begins to bleed into his personal life as he begins to use his anger towards his friends and family, which leads to his downfall. It’s an intimate portrayal that makes you forget someone is playing the character. Which is why it tops this list.
