From there, he delivered great performances in 'The King of Comedy' (1983), 'Once Upon a Time in America' (1984), 'The Untouchables' (1987) and 'Awakenings' (1990). De Niro offered a haunting turn as a Vietnam veteran in 'The Deer Hunter' (1978), before gaining 60 pounds to play boxer Jake La Motta in 'Raging Bull' (1980). He earned his first Academy Award as a young Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather Part II' (1974) and delivered his most iconic performance as would-be vigilante Travis Bickle in 'Taxi Driver' (1976). After gaining attention in 'Bang the Drum Slowly' (1973), De Niro exploded onto the public's consciousness as the reckless Johnny Boy in 'Mean Streets' (1973), which commenced his partnership with Martin Scorsese, one of the greatest actor-director combos of all time.
Often regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time, Robert De Niro was also one of the most enigmatic and remained famously tight-lipped about his personal life throughout his career.
