Raging Bull is one of the best films in actor Robert De Niro’s career. The 1980 sports-drama film is based on the book Raging Bull: My Story, based on the life of boxer Jake LaMotta. The film was a critical success and won De Niro several accolades. However, the film’s production wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.
Irwin Winkler, who produced the film, has revealed the argument he had with the legendary actor while filming the movie. The argument involved the dramatic physical transformation De Niro had to undergo for the role and how it ultimately impacted the final product for better or worse. Here is what Winkler said about his argument with De Niro while they were working on Raging Bull.
Raging Bull Producer Reveals His Only Argument With Robert De Niro
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull tells the story of boxer Jake LaMotta over 25 years of his life, with Robert De Niro playing the role. As a result, De Niro’s character undergoes a drastic transformation in his physical appearance over the years. To accurately depict the character’s physical and mental state, De Niro wanted to put on weight for some portions of the film.
However, producer Irwin Winkler revealed in a behind-the-scenes documentary about the film that De Niro’s decision to put on weight led to an argument between him and the actor. Winkler stated:
“The only time I ever had an argument with Bob [De Niro] in all these years was about gaining the weight.”
The producer, whose credits include the 1976 Academy Award-winning film, Rocky, added that De Niro was insistent on gaining weight for the role while he tried to persuade the actor otherwise.
“He said to me that i think the best way to do this for me to gain the weight is to shut down production for me to go off and gain 50 60 pounds.”
Winkler made the above statement, highlighting De Niro’s desire to undergo a physical transformation. While Winkler warned De Niro how the transformation could affect his health, the actor remained determined. In the same documentary, director Martin Scorsese added that after De Niro gained the necessary weight, the crew had to shoot swiftly as the extra weight had started to take its toll on the Taxi Driver actor.
Robert De Niro Talks the Difficult Preparation For Raging Bull
For his role in Raging Bull, De Niro underwent a drastic physical transformation that reportedly saw him put on 60 pounds. As a result, it is no surprise that the actor considers the role one of the toughest in his decades-long career.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2019, De Niro admitted that his role in Raging Bull required one of the hardest preparations, especially because of the weight transformation. He said:
“I guess Raging Bull because of [putting on] the weight and all that.”
Aside from gaining weight for the role, De Niro also underwent rigorous boxing training. For the most part, De Niro was trained by LaMotta himself regarding the ins and outs of boxing. De Niro’s commitment to the role and hard work certainly paid off as the actor won his second Academy Award (and his first in the Best Actor category) for the role of Jake LaMotta.
Raging Bull is streaming on MGM+.
