With a critically acclaimed career and two Academy Awards under his belt Robert De Niro is a giant in the acting world, but how tall is he? Robert De Niro has played some pretty physically imposing characters over his 55 years on screen. From tough gangsters and gruff cops to troubled loner Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, many of his most famous roles work because of his ability to conjure up an intimidating persona – and he’s not afraid to alter his physical appearance to do so.
For his iconic, Oscar-winning role in Martin Scorsese’s 1980 biographical drama Raging Bull, De Niro trained extensively for nearly a year – gaining 20 pounds of muscle in the process – to play legendary boxer Jake LaMotta. It probably helped his co-star Joe Pesci – who played LaMotta’s brother and manager Joey – stands at just five foot four inches tall. De Niro and Pesci have worked together several times during their careers. They starred alongside each other in gangster films Goodfellas and Casino (also directed by Scorsese), in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America and both of De Niro’s directorial efforts A Bronx Tale and The Good Shepherd.
De Niro and Pesci also star in Martin Scorsese’s latest gangster epic The Irishman as real-life mobsters Frank Sheeran and Russell Bufalino. While filming The Irishman, De Niro was in the news when behind-the-scenes images of him wearing some lofty platform shoes to appear taller than co-star Al Pacino emerged. As Pacino’s character Jimmy Hoffa was five foot five ½ inches tall and Sheeran stood a towering six foot four inches, De Niro’s stacked shoes make sense. Minus the platforms, however, Robert De Niro is somewhere between five foot seven ½ inches (according to Celeb Heights) and five foot nine inches tall (according to Celebrity How).
Considering the form-altering techniques he’s used over the years, the debate over Robert De Niro’s height is understandable. Raging Bull and The Irishman aren’t the only times he’s physically transformed himself for a role either. In 1991 he teamed with Martin Scorsese yet again on psychological thriller Cape Fear, a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. He bulked up by hitting the gym six days a week – reportedly cutting down his body fat to just 4% – to play ex-convict Max Cady and look stronger than his six-foot-tall co-star Nick Nolte, who in turn lost a few pounds to appear more vulnerable.
Whether Robert De Niro’s next collaboration with Scorsese is Killers Of The Flower Moon playing cattleman and convicted murderer William Hale will require beefing up or wearing platform shoes remains to be seen.