Legendary actor Robert De Niro has seemingly done it all in his sixty-year career. The actor has won the Academy Award twice and is known for working with acclaimed directors such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Michael Mann. The actor was last seen in his tenth film with Scorsese, the crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon.
While De Niro has been known to play a wide range of roles, including grey characters, he was apparently deemed too soft for director Stanley Kubrick. The director rejected De Niro as the potential lead for his horror film The Shining as he was not psychotic enough, despite watching Taxi Driver.
Robert De Niro’s Greatest Deranged Performances
Actor Robert De Niro has played his fair share of grey characters in his six-decade-long career. The actor played the role of the s*x offender and criminal Max Cady in Martin Scorsese’s remake of Cape Fear, he played the unpredictable Johnny Boy in Mean Streets, and he played the untrustworthy and forever-doubting James Conway in Goodfellas.
However, the actor’s most challenging and deranged role had to be his portrayal of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. The Scorsese directorial saw De Niro play a Vietnam War veteran, who cruises New York City as a taxi driver and sees nothing but dirt and filth in the city. The film is an intense character study of a soldier’s struggle to adjust to post-war society.
Robert De Niro reportedly did a lot of preparation for the intense role. He apparently got a taxi driver’s license and drove around New York City to better understand the character. He also listened to the personal tapes of criminal Arthur Bremer, who attempted an assassination on a presidential candidate. The actor also reportedly lost 35 pounds for the role.
While Martin Scorsese offered the role to actors such as Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and Jeff Bridges, De Niro was eventually selected. The actor went on to earn an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Travis Bickle.
Why Did Stanley Kubrick Reject Robert De Niro For The Shining?
While Robert De Niro’s exploration of a Vietnam War vet’s psyche was lauded by critics at the time, the performance reportedly did not impress director Stanley Kubrick. The legendary director was reportedly looking at De Niro for the role of Jack Torrance in his horror film The Shining.
Based on the novel by Stephen King, the character of Jack Torrance is a struggling writer who suffers from alcoholism and writer’s block. He slowly loses his mind as he is stuck in the snow-capped Overlook Hotel with his family and begins to get psychotic. Stanley Kubrick’s original choice to play the role was Jack Nicholson, who ended up playing the part.
However, author King was reportedly not on board with Nicholson as he felt that the actor would be an obvious choice to play a deranged character. Kubrick reportedly also looked at A-listers such as Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, and Harrison Ford. Kubrick apparently rejected De Niro after watching him in Taxi Driver as he felt that he was not psychotic enough.
According to the Snopes website, the director reportedly also considered Robin Williams but then deemed him to be too psychotic to play Jack Torrance. Jack Nicholson eventually got the role. Robert De Niro mentioned later that the film gave him nightmares for months.
The Shining is currently streaming on Max.
