Harvey Keitel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel Cannes 2015.jpg
Keitel at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival
Born (1939-05-13) May 13, 1939 (age 82)
New York City, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Romania
Occupation
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active1967–present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2001)​
Partner(s)Lorraine Bracco (1982–1993)
Children3
Military career
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branch United States Marine Corps

Harvey Keitel (/kaɪˈtɛl/ ky-TEL; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor, known for his portrayal of morally-ambiguous and "tough guy" characters.[1][2] He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with director Martin Scorsese, starring in six of his films since 1973.[3]

Keitel has played in such films as Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Blue Collar (1978), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Thelma & Louise (1991), Bugsy (1991), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Bad Lieutenant (1992), The Piano (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), From Dusk till Dawn (1996), Cop Land (1997), Red Dragon (2002), National Treasure (2004), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Youth (2015), and The Irishman (2019). He has been nominated for a number of accolades, including Academy and Golden Globe nominations for Bugsy (1991), and won an AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Piano (1993).[4]

From 1995 to 2017, he was a co-president of the Actors Studio, along with actors Al Pacino and Ellen Burstyn.[5]

Early life[]

Keitel was born in New York City, on May 13, 1939,[3][6] the son of Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants; his mother, Miriam (née Klein), was from Romania, and his father, Harry Keitel, was from Poland.[7] His parents owned and ran a luncheonette, while his father worked as a hat maker. He grew up in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn,[8] with his sister, Renee, and brother, Jerry. He attended Abraham Lincoln High School. He enlisted in the Marines at the age of 16, a decision that took him to Lebanon during Operation Blue Bat.[8] After his return, he worked as a court stenographer for several years before beginning his acting career.[8]

Career[]

Keitel in November 2009

Keitel studied under both Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg and at the HB Studio,[9] eventually landing roles in some Off-Broadway productions.[8] During this time, Keitel auditioned for filmmaker Martin Scorsese and gained a starring role as "J.R.", in Scorsese's first feature film, Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967).[8] Since then, Scorsese and Keitel have worked together on several projects.[8] Keitel had the starring role in Scorsese's Mean Streets, which also proved to be Robert De Niro's breakthrough film. Keitel re-teamed with Scorsese for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which he had a villainous supporting role, and appeared with Robert De Niro again in Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), playing the role of Jodie Foster's character's pimp.[8]

In 1977 and 1978, Keitel starred in the directorial debuts of Paul Schrader (Blue Collar, co-starring Richard Pryor and Yaphet Kotto), Ridley Scott (The Duellists, co-starring Keith Carradine), and James Toback (Fingers, in which Keitel played a street hood with aspirations of being a pianist – a role Toback wrote for Robert De Niro to play).

Cast as Captain Willard in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), Keitel was involved with the first week of principal photography in the Philippines. Coppola was not happy with Keitel's take on Willard, stating that the actor "found it difficult to play him as a passive onlooker".[10] After viewing the first week's footage, Coppola replaced Keitel with a casting session favorite, Martin Sheen.

Keitel drifted into obscurity through most of the 1980s.[8] He continued to do work on both stage and screen, but usually in the stereotypical role of a thug. Keitel played a corrupt police officer in the 1983 thriller Copkiller (co-starring musician John Lydon), before taking a supporting role in the romantic drama Falling in Love (1984), starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. Between 1985 and 1988, he was the busiest character actor around, appearing in 16 films and telefilms,[11] including Brian De Palma's mobster comedy Wise Guys (1986), starring Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo and as Judas in Martin Scorsese's controversial The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).

Keitel with singer Harry Belafonte in New York, April 2011

He co-starred with Jack Nicholson in the Chinatown sequel The Two Jakes (1990), directed by Jack Nicholson. Ridley Scott cast Keitel as the sympathetic policeman in Thelma & Louise in 1991; that same year, Keitel landed a role in Barry Levinson's Bugsy, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The following year, Keitel played another mobster in the Whoopi Goldberg-starring comedy Sister Act.

Keitel starred in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (which he co-produced) in 1992,[8] where his performance as "Mr. White" took his career to a different level. Since then, Keitel has chosen his roles with care, seeking to change his image and show a broader acting range.[8] One of those roles was the title character in Bad Lieutenant, about a self-loathing, drug-addicted police lieutenant trying to redeem himself.[8] He co-starred in the movie The Piano in 1993,[8] and played an apparent reprise of his Victor the Cleaner from 1992’s “Point of No Return” cleanup expert, Winston "The Wolf" Wolfe in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Keitel starred as a police detective in Spike Lee's Clockers (an adaptation of Richard Price's novel, co-produced by Martin Scorsese). In 1996, Keitel had a major role in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's film From Dusk till Dawn, and in 1997, he starred in the crime drama Cop Land, which also starred Sylvester Stallone, Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro.

His later roles include the fatherly Satan in Little Nicky, a wise Navy man in U-571, diligent FBI Special agent Sadusky in National Treasure and the latter's sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets. In 1999, Keitel was replaced by Sydney Pollack on the set of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, due to shooting conflicts, and appeared in Tony Bui's award-winning directorial debut, Three Seasons (which Keitel also executive produced). Keitel also re-teamed with Jane Campion for Holy Smoke! (co-starring Kate Winslet).

In 2001 Keitel played opposite roles: as a U.S. Army denazification investigator in the film Taking Sides and as SS-Oberscharführer Erich Muhsfeldt in the film The Grey Zone.

In 2002, at the 24th Moscow International Film Festival, Keitel was honored with the Stanislavsky Award for his outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school.[12]

He also appeared in the Steinlager Pure commercials in New Zealand in 2007. Unlike many American male actors, Keitel has appeared nude in several films, including full frontal nudity in Bad Lieutenant and The Piano.

In January 2008, Keitel played Jerry Springer in the New York City premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall.[8] In 2008, Keitel was cast in the role of Detective Gene Hunt in ABC's short-lived US remake of the successful British time-travel police drama series Life on Mars.[13]

In June 2009, he made a cameo appearance in the Jay-Z video for "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)", a nod to his Brooklyn origins. In 2013, he appeared in a music video for "Pretty Hurts" by Beyoncé.[14]

In 2013, he starred in the independent film A Farewell to Fools.[15]

Between 2014 and early 2020, he reprised his role of Winston Wolfe from Pulp Fiction as part of a £40 million television advertising campaign for British insurance company Direct Line.[16][17]

Personal life[]

Keitel and wife Daphna Kastner in 2010

Keitel was in a long-term relationship with American actress Lorraine Bracco from 1982 to 1993,[18] but the relationship ended acrimoniously and included a prolonged custody battle over their daughter, Stella (born 1985).[19] He married Canadian actress Daphna Kastner in 2001.[20] He had two more children after Stella: a son from his relationship with Lisa Karmazin, and a son from his marriage to Kastner.

Keitel is an honorary citizen of Romania.[21]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1967 Reflections in a Golden Eye Soldier Uncredited
Who's That Knocking at My Door J.R.
1970 Brewster McCloud Photographer Uncredited
1973 Mean Streets Charlie
1974 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Ben
1975 That's the Way of the World Coleman Buckmaster
1976 Taxi Driver Charles 'Sport' Rain / Matthew Higgins Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor (2nd place)
Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (2nd place)
Mother, Jugs & Speed Tony 'Speed' Malatesta
Buffalo Bill and the Indians Ed Goodman
Welcome to L.A. Ken Hood
1977 The Duellists Feraud
1978 Blue Collar Jerry Bartowski
Fingers Jimmy Fingers
1979 Eagle's Wing Henry
1980 Death Watch Roddy
Saturn 3 Benson Voice dubbed by Roy Dotrice
Bad Timing Inspector Netusil
1982 The Border Cat
That Night in Varennes Thomas Paine
1983 Copkiller Lieutenant Fred O'Connor
Exposed Rivas
1984 Falling in Love Ed Lasky
Nemo Mr. Legend
1985 Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women and Crime) Frankie
El caballero del dragon (The Knight of the Dragon) Clever
1986 Off Beat Mickey
Wise Guys Bobby DiLea
The Men's Club Solly Berliner
1987 The Inquiry Pontius Pilate
Blindside Penfield Gruber
The Pick-up Artist Alonzo Scolara
1988 The Last Temptation of Christ Judas Iscariot Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor
Dear Gorbachev Nikolaj Bucharin
1989 The January Man Police Commissioner Frank Starkey
1990 Two Evil Eyes Roderick Usher Segment: "The Black Cat"
The Two Jakes Julius 'Jake' Berman
Grandi cacciatori Thomas
1991 Mortal Thoughts Detective John Woods National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
Thelma & Louise Detective Hal Slocumb
Bugsy Mickey Cohen Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
1992 Reservoir Dogs Larry Dimmick / Mr. White Also co-producer
Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actor
Bad Lieutenant The Lieutenant Fantasporto's International Fantasy Film Award for Best Actor
Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (2nd place)
Sister Act Vince LaRocca
1993 Point of No Return Victor The Cleaner
The Piano George Baines Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Rising Sun Lieutenant Tom Graham
Dangerous Game Eddie Israel Venice Film Festival – Golden Ciak for Best Actor
The Young Americans DEA Agent John Harris
1994 Monkey Trouble Azro
Pulp Fiction Winston 'The Wolf' Wolfe
Imaginary Crimes Ray Weiler
1995 Smoke Augustus 'Auggie' Wren Berlin International Film Festival's Special Jury Prize (shared with Wayne Wang)
David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor
Blue in the Face Augustus 'Auggie' Wren Also executive producer
Ulysses' Gaze A.
Clockers Detective Rocco Klein
Get Shorty Himself Uncredited cameo
1996 From Dusk till Dawn Jacob Fuller Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
Head Above Water George
1997 City of Industry Roy Egan
Cop Land Ray Donlan
FairyTale: A True Story Harry Houdini
1998 Shadrach Vernon
Lulu on the Bridge Izzy Maurer
Finding Graceland Elvis
Sweets of Roses Hubie Voice
Gunslinger's Revenge (Il mio West) Johnny Lowen
1999 Three Seasons James Hager Also executive producer
Holy Smoke! P.J. Waters
Presence of Mind The Master
2000 U-571 CPO Henry Klough Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor – Action
Prince of Central Park The Guardian
Little Nicky Satan
Viper Leone
2001 Nailed Tony Romano
The Grey Zone SS-Oberscharführer Erich Muhsfeldt Also executive producer
Taking Sides Major Steve Arnold
2002 Ginostra Matt Benson
Red Dragon FBI Agent Jack Crawford
2003 Crime Spree Frankie Zammeti
The Galíndez File Edward Robards
Who Killed the Idea? Private Investigator Short film
Dreaming of Julia 'Che' Also producer
Chasing the Elephant The Mystery Man Short film
2004 Puerto Vallarta Squeeze Walter McGrane
National Treasure FBI Agent Peter Sadusky
The Bridge of San Luis Rey Uncle Pio
2005 Be Cool Nick Carr
Shadows in the Sun Weldon Parish
2006 One Last Dance Terrtano
A Crime Roger Culkin
The Stone Merchant [it] The Merchant Ludovico Vicedomini
Arthur and the Minimoys Miro Voice
2007 My Sexiest Year Zowie
National Treasure: Book of Secrets FBI Agent Peter Sadusky
2009 Inglourious Basterds Allied Commanding Officer Uncredited voice
The Ministers Detective Joe Bruno
Wrong Turn at Tahoe Nino
2010 A Beginner's Guide to Endings Duke White
Little Fockers Randy Weir
The Last Godfather Don Carini
2012 Moonrise Kingdom Commander Pierce
2013 A Farewell to Fools Father Johanis
The Power Inside O'Mansky
The Congress Al
2014 Two Men in Town Bill Agati
The Grand Budapest Hotel Ludvig Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Rio, I Love You Himself Segment: "O Milagre"
By the Gun[22] Salvatore Vitaglia
Gandhi of the Month Edward Baker
2015 Youth Mick Boyle
Outlaws The Director Short film
The Ridiculous 6 'Smiley' Harris
2016 Chosen Papi
The Comedian Mac
2017 Madame Bob Fredericks
Lies We Tell Demi
2018 First We Take Brooklyn Anatoly
Isle of Dogs Gondo Voice
2019 The Last Man Noe
Esau Abraham
See You Soon Billy
The Painted Bird Priest
The Irishman Angelo Bruno Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2020 Fatima Professor Nichols
2021 Blood on the Crown General Hunter Blair
Lansky Meyer Lansky
TBA The Legitimate Wise Guy Films that have not yet been released Pre-production
Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television[]

Year Film Role Notes
1966 Hogan's Heroes German Soldier Uncredited
Episode: "The Great Impersonation"
1966 Dark Shadows Blue Whale customer Uncredited
2 episodes
1968 N.Y.P.D. Ramby Episode: "Case of the Shady Lady"
1971 Great Performances Jerry Episode: "A Memory of Two Mondays"
1973 Kojak Jerry Talaba Episode: "Siege of Terror"
1974 The F.B.I. Ernie Episode: "Deadly Ambition"
1974 A Memory of Two Mondays Jerry Television film
1984 La bella Otero Ernest Jurgens Television film
1985 Amazing Stories Byron Sullivan Episode: "Vanessa in the Garden"
1986 The Ellen Burstyn Show Frank Tanner Episode: "Reading Between the Lines"
1988 The Play on One Carl Episode: "Down Where the Buffalo Go"
1989 This Ain't Bebop Television short
2000 Fail Safe Brigadier General Warren A. Black Television film
2002 Saturday Night Live Siegfried Episode: "Robert De Niro/Norah Jones"
2006 The Path to 9/11 John O'Neill 2 episodes
2008–2009 Life on Mars (U.S.) Lieutenant Gene Hunt 17 episodes
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2012 Fatal Honeymoon Tommy Thomas Television film
2016 Inside Amy Schumer Proposition Man Episode: "Fame"

References[]

  1. ^ Wartofsky, Alona (September 13, 1995). "DARK SIDE OF THE ACTOR HARVEY KEITEL, PLUMBING THE DEPTHS OF THE SOUL". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Harvey Keitel on his uneasy relationship with Hollywood". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Harvey Keitel". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "AFI Past Winners - 1993 Winners & Nominees". AFI-AACTA. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Lipton, James (October 18, 2007). Inside Inside. Dutton. p. 14. ISBN 9780525950356.
  6. ^ "Person details for Harvey Kutel". familyserarch.org. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  7. ^ Schoemer, Karen (November 7, 1993). "Harvey Keitel Tries A Little Tenderness". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m Inside the Actors Studio. The Actors Studio, Bravo Network, Betelgeuse Productions. 1998. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  9. ^ HB Studio Alumni
  10. ^ Cowie, Peter (1990). Coppola: A Biography. New York: Scribner. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-6841-9193-5.
  11. ^ Cohn, Lawrence (October 5, 1988). "Acting Jobs Steadiest Since Studio Era". Variety. p. 1.
  12. ^ "24th Moscow International Film Festival (2002)". MIFF. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  13. ^ Mitovich, Matt (July 24, 2008). "Scoop! Keitel Lands on Mars as Homicide Boss". TV Guide. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  14. ^ Dolan, Jon (December 13, 2013). "'Beyonce' Breakdown: The Ultimate Guide to Bey's Surprise New Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  15. ^ De Coster, Ramzi (October 17, 2013). "Monterey Media Acquires Three Films, Including Works Starring Gerard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel". IndieWire. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  16. ^ Brownsell, Alex (August 29, 2014). "Direct Line challenges rivals with Harvey Keitel 'fixer' ads". Campaign. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  17. ^ "Meet Winston Wolfe". directline.com. August 30, 2014. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  18. ^ Lombardi, John (January 12, 1998). "Scenes From a Bad Movie Marriage". New York.
  19. ^ "Scenes from a Bad Barriage". The Independent. London. March 7, 1998. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  20. ^ Pinto, Goel (October 7, 2001). "American-Jewish Actor Harvey Keitel Gets Married in Jerusalem". Haaretz. Tel Aviv. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  21. ^ "DISTINCȚIE – Actorul american Harvey Keitel a venit în Leordina pentru a primi titlul de cetățean de onoare al comunei maramureșene" [DISTINCTION - American actor Harvey Keitel came to Leordina to receive the title of honorary citizen of Maramures commune]. News from Maramureș (in Romanian). July 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  22. ^ "'By The Gun': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. December 5, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2021.

External links[]

Preceded by
Paul Newman 		President of the Actors Studio
1994–present
With: Al Pacino
and Ellen Burstyn 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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