Actor. Born on August 17, 1943, in New York City, New York, educated at Rhodes School (New York City). High School of Music and Art (New York City). Trained for the stage by Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, he appeared in off-Broadway productions and with touring companies before entering films in the late 60's. He gave interesting characterizations in several low-budget Brian De Palma films, but attracted little attention until 1973, when he etched a sensitive portrayal of a dying baseball player in John Hancock's Bang the Drum Slowly and gave an incisive performance as a simple-minded small-time hood in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets. His performance in the latter began an ongoing working relationship between the actor and director, each highlighting the other's portrayal of Italian-American life on the edge. The following year he won an Academy Award as best supporting player for his portrait of the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather II. He topped those achievements in 1976 with a memorable performance in the role of a psychotic cabbie alienated by the moral and physical squalor of New York in Scorsese's Taxi Driver, affirming his position as one of the finest American screen actors of the 70's. He was again nominated for an Oscar for The Deer Hunter (1978) and won a second Academy Award, this time as best actor, for his portrait of boxer Jake La Motta in Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980). He shared the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival for True Confessions (1981). An intense, perceptive performer, he remained a forceful figure on the American screen in the 80's and 90's, in a variety of roles ranging from a blank, violent Mafia kingpin in Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990) to a softhearted bounty hunter in Midnight Run (1988). His company, Tribeca Films, and New York production facility, Tribeca Film Center, have stimulated filmmaking in the city. He made his directorial debut with A Bronx Tale (1993). He was married (1975-1978) to actress Diahnne Abbott.
