Harvey Keitel

Biography

American actor and producer Harvey Keitel was born on May 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York City, to Miriam (Klein) and Harry Keitel. An Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominee, he has appeared in films such as Martin Scorsese’s Hexenkessel (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976), Ridley Scott’s Die Duellisten (1977) and Thelma & Louise (1991), Peter Yates’ C.R.A.S.H. (1976), Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs – Wilde Hunde (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994), Jane Campion’s Das Piano (1993), Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant (1992), Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), James Mangold’s Cop Land (1997), Paolo Sorrentino’s Ewige Jugend (2015). He is regarded as one of the greatest method actors ever. Along with actors Al Pacino and Ellen Burstyn, he is the current co-president of the Actors Studio. Keitel studied under both Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg and at the HB Studio, eventually landing roles in some Off-Broadway productions. During this time, Keitel auditioned for filmmaker Martin Scorsese and gained a starring role as “J.R.”, in Scorsese’s first feature film, Wer klopft denn da an meine Tür? (1967). Since then, Scorsese and Keitel have worked together on several projects. Keitel had the starring role in Scorsese’s Hexenkessel (1973), which also proved to be Robert De Niro’s breakthrough film. Keitel re-teamed with Scorsese for Alice lebt hier nicht mehr (1974), in which he had a villainous supporting role, and appeared with Robert De Niro again in Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976), playing the role of Jodie Foster’s pimp.