Robert De Niro is often described as “one of the greatest actors of all time”, and an icon of the movie screen. He has appeared in many notable roles, including films such as Goodfellas, The Godfather Part II and Taxi Driver.
In fact, the director Martin Scorsese, who has worked with De Niro in many films, called him the “greatest actor of his generation”.
Scorsese added that De Niro’s “creative impact in acting will always be felt so long as there are actors to express their art,” with the director demonstrating his appreciation for the longtime collaboration with the star.
De Niro is known to take on confident, outspoken roles but in real life, he takes on a more subtle and reserved approach. But the actor hasn’t kept everything private. In an interview with Kenneth Branagh De Niro revealed his favourite actors of all time, listing the likes of Marlon Brando, James Dean and Kim Stanley.
He then told The Golden Globes that his personal favourite movies involve two of the aforementioned actors, Marlon Brando and James Dean. The actor listed chose East of Eden, On the Waterfront and Rebel Without a Cause as his personal preferences.
Both East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause star Dean, an actor who was influential in paving the way for mid-century you, with his style and attitude. Dean’s career came to a tragic end however, when he died in a car crash aged 24.
Brando, however, was the star that Dean was always meant to be. His performance in On the Waterfront went on to have a significant impact on 20th-century cinema, inspiring a whole new generation of young actors.
De Niro expressed his feelings towards both of the actors, stating: “When you saw James Dean do East of Eden, he was great, but you can’t do what he could do. Brando with On the Waterfront or A Streetcar Named Desire are considered the great performances of that time and still are”.
East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955)
East of Eden’s synopsis reads: “In this film based on John Steinbeck’s epic novel, Cal Trask (James Dean), the son of a California farmer (Raymond Massey), feels that his father cares only about his brother, Aron (Richard Davalos). When Cal embarks on a business venture to gain the favor of his dad, he finds himself dealing with his estranged mother (Jo Van Fleet), now the owner of a brothel, and tensions in the family rise even further when he begins to fall for Aron’s girlfriend, Abra (Julie Harris).”
On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)
The film’s synopsis reads: “Dockworker Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) had been an up-and-coming boxer until powerful local mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) persuaded him to throw a fight. When a longshoreman is murdered before he can testify about Friendly’s control of the Hoboken waterfront, Terry teams up with the dead man’s sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and the streetwise priest Father Barry (Karl Malden) to testify himself, against the advice of Friendly’s lawyer, Terry’s older brother Charley (Rod Steiger).”
Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955)
Rebel Without a Cause’s synopsis reads: “After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark (James Dean) is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato (Sal Mineo), and falls for local girl Judy (Natalie Wood). However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz (Corey Allen). When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid’s real troubles begin.”