In addition to having an unparalleled technical command of cinema, Martin Scorsese is great at drawing powerful performances out of his actors. His movies are often character studies, and he works closely with his actors to make sure they’re playing the most authentic version of their role possible. Many Scorsese-helmed performances have gone on to receive Academy Awards.
Scorsese also regularly works with the same actors. His frequent collaborators include Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel, the latter of whom has been working with the director since his first-ever feature. De Niro, Pesci, and Keitel have each given some of the finest performances of their careers in Scorsese movies.
De Niro As Jimmy Doyle (New York, New York)
The musical drama New York, New York is one of Scorsese’s most forgettable films, so it’s fitting that it also features one of Robert De Niro’s most forgettable performances. He does a serviceable job, but Liza Minnelli steals the movie from him.
Keitel As Ben (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore)
Harvey Keitel plays the minor role of the hot-tempered Ben in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, which is hardly the average Scorsese movie. The real star of this film is an Oscar-winning Ellen Burstyn.
Pesci As Nicky Santoro (Casino)
Much like Casino itself is something of a rehash of the fierce originality of Goodfellas, Joe Pesci’s portrayal of Nicky Santoro is sort of a rehash of his Oscar-winning performance as Tommy DeVito.
He’s yet another angry mobster who likes to run his mouth. The interesting twist here is that it’s contrasted with Sam Rothstein’s coolness.
Keitel As J.R. (Who’s That Knocking At My Door)
Scorsese doesn’t usually write his own scripts, but he did write his debut feature, Who’s That Knocking at My Door. Harvey Keitel plays the lead role of J.R., who is devastated to learn that the love of his life was sexually assaulted by an ex-boyfriend.
De Niro As Sam Rothstein (Casino)
Scorsese’s Casino is often viewed as derivative of Goodfellas. Its exploration of organized crime in Vegas makes its subject matter different enough, but De Niro’s stony-faced mafioso feels like an imitation of his performance as Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas.
Keitel As Sport (Taxi Driver)
When Travis Bickle sets out to rescue 12-year-old prostitute Iris from a job she’s much too young for, the main roadblock he faces is her pimp, Sport, played by Harvey Keitel.
Affecting a street-tough persona and manipulating Iris at every turn, Keitel made Sport a villain the audience loves to hate.
De Niro As Max Cady (Cape Fear)
Thrillers and remakes aren’t usually in Scorsese’s wheelhouse, but he helmed a heck of a remake of the classic thriller Cape Fear. Robert De Niro’s performance as the sadistic Max Cady is suitably terrifying — and different enough from Robert Mitchum’s previous portrayal of the role to stand on its own.
Keitel As Angelo Bruno (The Irishman)
Keitel reunited with Scorsese for the first time in more than 30 years when the director cast him to play Philadelphia crime boss Angelo Bruno in The Irishman. While he’s overshadowed by some of his co-stars, Keitel brings plenty of pathos to each of his scenes.
De Niro As Johnny Boy (Mean Streets)
De Niro’s long-running collaboration with Scorsese got off to a strong start with Mean Streets, in which the actor plays a reckless young Little Italy hoodlum named Johnny Boy.
What makes the movie so compelling is the dynamic that Johnny Boy shares with his more mature friend Charlie, played by Harvey Keitel (with whom De Niro shares impeccable chemistry), who’s constantly cleaning up his messes.
Pesci As Russell Bufalino (The Irishman)
After playing hotheads for Scorsese for decades, Joe Pesci offered an intriguing counterpoint to that type in The Irishman. Russell Bufalino is much more softly spoken than Pesci’s other characters, and he brings nuance to the role in spades.
De Niro As Jimmy Conway (Goodfellas)
Although Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci steal the spotlight with unforgettable performances, Robert De Niro brings plenty of gravitas to the supporting role of Jimmy Conway, like when he kicks a phone booth over after finding out Tommy’s been whacked.
De Niro As Frank Sheeran (The Irishman)
Dodgy de-aging effects aside, Robert De Niro gave his best performance in years in The Irishman. In scenes like his phone call to Jo Hoffa after murdering her husband, De Niro creates a rounded, complicated, emotionally stifled portrait of mob hitman Frank Sheeran.
Keitel As Judas Iscariot (The Last Temptation Of Christ)
Keitel got to play the darkest role in Scorsese’s controversially dark biopic of Jesus Christ. Opposite Willem Dafoe’s Jesus, Keitel played Judas Iscariot, the guy who infamously betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the actor knocked the role out of the park.
Pesci As Joey LaMotta (Raging Bull)
Joe Pesci lived with Robert De Niro for a while before shooting Raging Bull, so they could develop a rapport and convincingly play brothers. This technique worked wonders, as there’s a palpable brotherly love between the two throughout the movie.
This dynamic makes it all the more heartbreaking when the brothers’ relationship breaks down. Jake takes out his rage on Joey so often that Joey eventually refuses to speak to him.
De Niro As Rupert Pupkin (The King Of Comedy)
One of Scorsese’s most underrated movies is The King of Comedy, and one of De Niro’s most underrated performances is his turn as aspiring comedian Rupert Pupkin in that movie. Pupkin’s delusions of fame offer a darkly comic twist on the Travis Bickle type.
Keitel As Charlie (Mean Streets)
Although it was technically Scorsese’s third feature, Mean Streets is the first one that really feels like a Scorsese movie. With his mafia ties and Catholic guilt, Charlie is a quintessential Scorsese protagonist, and Harvey Keitel makes the character endlessly captivating.
De Niro As Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver)
Paul Schrader gave De Niro plenty of material to sink his teeth into with the role of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. He’s a Vietnam veteran with PTSD who combats his insomnia by driving a cab around the clock and becomes so disillusioned with the crime in New York that he takes up arms and becomes a vigilante.
In the masterful hands of De Niro, Travis became the quintessential antihero, as well as the definitive portrait of the devastating effects of isolation.
Pesci As Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas)
Joe Pesci defined his type — hothead motormouth mobsters — with his Oscar-winning turn as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas. Ray Liotta is the star of the movie, but from the “Funny how?” scene to the murder of Spider, Pesci steals every scene he’s in.
De Niro As Jake LaMotta (Raging Bull)
Robert De Niro had to beg Martin Scorsese to helm a biopic of Jake LaMotta because he’d read the boxer’s story and desperately wanted to play him, but Scorsese was reluctant to take on a sports movie as he’s not a fan. Finally, De Niro managed to convince him it wouldn’t be a sports movie and they collaborated on arguably their finest work to date.
De Niro’s warts-and-all portrayal of LaMotta doesn’t try to sanitize or whitewash its subject as so many biopics do; instead, the actor brings a startling authenticity to LaMotta’s rage that’s sometimes difficult to watch.