For half a century now, Martin Scorsese has been one of the greatest filmmakers in the world. From Mean Streets to Taxi Driver to Raging Bull to Goodfellas, Scorsese has been at the helm of some of the greatest movies ever made. The director tends to focus on character over plot, so casting the right actors to play each role is even more crucial in a Scorsese movie than any other.
Scorsese’s long-running collaborations with his two favorite leading men Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio are renowned, but the director has a deeper bench of recurring actors than that.
Harvey Keitel – Blue Collar (100%)
Since he played the lead role of J.R. in Who’s That Knocking at My Door, Harvey Keitel has worked with Martin Scorsese on Mean Streets, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, and The Irishman.
Keitel’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is Blue Collar, the directorial debut of Paul Schrader, who wrote the scripts for such Scorsese classics as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.
Daniel Day-Lewis – A Room With A View (100%)
Before retiring with his leading role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, Daniel Day-Lewis was notoriously picky about his films, only starring in the right projects whenever they came along. Still, the actor worked with Scorsese twice, on The Age of Innocence and Gangs of New York.
With a perfect 100% approval rating, Day-Lewis’ top-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is A Room with a View, a romance set in Edwardian England.
Willem Dafoe – Finding Nemo (99%)
Scorsese’s movies have always been heavy on Catholic themes and imagery, so when he made a movie about the life of Jesus Christ, it was pretty important. He cast a young Willem Dafoe to play the Messiah in The Last Temptation of Christ, then gave him a cameo appearance in The Aviator.
Dafoe’s top-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes is Pixar’s Finding Nemo. He voiced Gill, the leader of the fish in the dentist’s office who help Nemo escape.
Frank Vincent – Goodfellas (96%)
Before collaborating with Scorsese, Frank Vincent already had a working relationship with Joe Pesci, so Scorsese has often given the two actors an interesting on-screen dynamic to work with — usually a venomous one, as seen in Raging Bull and Goodfellas.
The latter is Vincent’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes. He plays Billy Batts, a made man that Henry, Tommy, and Jimmy kill and bury in the woods, sealing their tragic fates.
Alec Baldwin – Path To War (100%)
Scorsese has never cast Alec Baldwin in a lead role, but he did give him supporting characters to play in both The Aviator and The Departed, with his role in the latter being pivotal to the story.
The top-rated movie in Baldwin’s filmography on Rotten Tomatoes is John Frankenheimer’s final film, the made-for-TV HBO movie Path to War, which explores the Vietnam War from Lyndon Johnson’s perspective.
Liam Neeson – Schindler’s List (97%)
Scorsese has worked with Liam Neeson on both Gangs of New York, in which he played a minor role, and Silence, in which he played a more crucial supporting role. Neeson has been one of the world’s biggest movie stars since starring in Schindler’s List and, starting with Taken, he’s morphed from a respected dramatic actor into a beloved action hero.
The actor’s top-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes is Steven Spielberg’s aforementioned Holocaust drama, a cultural landmark chronicling the life of a businessman who saved 1,200 Jews from concentration camps.
Joe Pesci – A Bronx Tale (97%)
Joe Pesci has been playing motormouth hotheads for Scorsese for years, in movies like Raging Bull and Goodfellas, so it was interesting to see him play Russell Bufalino in The Irishman as a calm, softly spoken counterpoint to his usual type.
Pesci’s top-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is A Bronx Tale, the directorial debut of his regular co-star (and fellow Scorsese collaborator) Robert De Niro.
John C. Reilly – Boogie Nights (93%)
Anyone who’s only familiar with John C. Reilly from his comedy vehicles with Will Ferrell may be surprised to learn that he’s a favorite of Martin Scorsese’s, but there are plenty of little-seen dramas on Reilly’s résumé.
His top-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes isn’t a Scorsese movie like The Aviator or Gangs of New York, but rather Paul Thomas Anderson’s porn industry epic Boogie Nights.
Robert De Niro – The Godfather Part II (98%)
Scorsese has been working with Robert De Niro since he played reckless criminal Johnny Boy in Mean Streets. They’ve since become one of the most iconic actor-director pairings in the world. Their most recent collaboration is The Irishman, which premiered on Netflix in 2019.
With a near-perfect approval score, The Godfather Part II is De Niro’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes. The actor played a young Vito Corleone in the sequel’s prequel scenes. Interestingly, Martin Scorsese came close to directing The Godfather Part II but was deemed too inexperienced.
Leonardo DiCaprio – Catch Me If You Can (96%)
From The Aviator to The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in some of Martin Scorsese’s most compelling biopics. Their working relationship is so close that, like De Niro, DiCaprio feels comfortable suggesting new projects to Scorsese.
But his highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes isn’t one of Scorsese’s works. Instead, it’s Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, in which he plays con man Frank Abagnale, Jr.