Robert De Niro

Characters prone to brutal violence and/or characters who are borderline psychotics
Method acting, heavily studying his characters' backgrounds
Mole on his right cheek
Frequently works with Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci.
Intense physical and mental preparation for roles

He and Martin Scorsese were brought up blocks apart in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan, but never formally met when they were young. When introduced at a party in 1972, the two came to realize that they had seen each other many times but had never spoken.
Spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect in order to play Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974). Nearly all the dialogue that his character spoke in the movie was in Sicilian.
Was good friends with comedian John Belushi, who died of an overdose on March 5, 1982. In fact, Robert De Niro and Robin Williams were the last stars to see Belushi alive, albeit on separate visits to Bungalow #3 of L.A.'s Chateau Marmont hotel that fateful day. Robert De Niro visited Belushi at 3:00 am on the morning of his death, but, according to eyewitnesses, left minutes later after seeing that Belushi was sick. Less than an hour earlier, Belushi had been visited by Robin Williams, who also left straight away.
He is the second actor to receive an Academy Award for portraying Vito Corleone. He and Marlon Brando were the first two actors to receive an Academy Award for playing the same character.
Growing up in the Little Italy section of New York City, his nickname was "Bobby Milk" because he was so thin and as pale as milk.

It's important not to indicate. People don't try to show their feelings, they try to hide them.
I don't like to watch my own movies--I fall asleep in my own movies.
Don't talk it [shooting a scene] away, do it!
Some people say that drama is easy, and comedy is hard. Not true. I've been making comedies the last couple of years, and it's nice. When you make a drama, you spend all day beating a guy to death with a hammer, or what have you. Or you have to take a bite out of somebody's face. On the other hand, with a comedy, you yell at Billy Crystal for an hour, and you go home.
[interview in Chicago Sun Times, 1/8/98] I think Hollywood has a class system. The actors are like the inmates, but the truth is they're running the asylum. You've got to look at the whole studio structure. There's these guys. We call them suits. They have the power to okay a film. They're like your parents, going, "We have the money". But at the same time they say to us actors, "We love you. We can't do without you". You know, I've been around a long time. I've seen the suits run the asylum. I think I can do it as good or even better. Let me try it. That's why I have TriBeCa.