Famous actor and filmmaker Robert de Niro has consistently appeared in some of the most acclaimed American films ever made, by some of the most acclaimed directors ever. The godfather part II (1974) by Francis Ford Coppola, Good day (1990) by Martin Scorsese, ed Heat (1995) by Michael Mann. And as such, he has also appeared with almost every A-list name Hollywood has to offer.
De Niro has been described by these friends as a rather mild-mannered, gentle man. And many of these real-life personas acted as huge foils to Robert’s more reserved nature. You should no doubt know most of the names on this list – if you don’t though, that will change soon enough. Without further ado, let’s start with Robert De Niro’s favorite costars.
9 Harvey Keitel
This is the first of De Niro’s friends on the list, as well as the first who is also a close associate of American director Martin Scorsese. The two played the lead role together Mean streets (1973), the director’s third feature film. It was De Niro’s first collaboration with Scorsese and Keitel’s second. The trio would later collaborate twice more: first with Cab driver (1976), and again with The Irishman (2019).
They also appeared together in both Fall in love (1984) and Police country (1997), further establishing themselves as powerful friends of Hollywood. They first developed a close bond back then Harvey Keitel convinced De Niro to take on the role of Johnny Boy Mean streets – if he hadn’t, some of the greatest films of all time would never have come to fruition. And to return the favor, De Niro reconnected Keitel with his ex-girlfriend, and the two have been married ever since.
8 Bill Murray
While these two are among the most iconic and recognizable stars of their generation, Robert De Niro and Bill Murray only worked together on one project. Still, the pair managed to capture many memorable moments together on the set of Mad Dog and Glory (1993).
In terms of critical evaluations, the film received decent reviews, with particular praise for De Niro and Murray for their good rapport. The feature received reasonable reviews and was praised for the chemistry between De Niro and Murray; a critic for The Washington Post even said the two’s “true friendship spills over into this jittery, very funny take on the male bonding experience”.
7 Marlon Brando
De Niro quoted at length Marlon Brando as a primary influence on his acting career. He’s one of De Niro’s all-time favorite actors, and that admiration shone brightly in their only collaboration together: The score (2001), a heist movie directed by Frank Oz. The two grew closer on set and De Niro even helped Brando through the film as he struggled with lines in his old age. However: perhaps the most obvious correlation between the two actors is the fact that De Niro played the younger version of Vito Corleone in The godfather part II (1974) by Francis Ford Coppola.
In the original film from two years earlier, Brando portrayed the original iteration of Vito Corleone. And what’s more, since both actors received Academy Awards for their portrayals of the character – Best Actor for Brando and Best Supporting Actor for De Niro. Perhaps the younger actor has channeled his admiration for Brando and translated it into the highest accolade an actor can receive.
6 Leonardo DiCaprio
Based on Tobias Wolfe’s memoir, This boy’s life (1993) featured De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio side by side. The two met when Leo was auditioning for the film – he was only fifteen at the time and the two have remained good friends ever since.
Oddly enough, the two have shared a pretty striking resemblance throughout their careers, as they’re both Martin Scorsese’s two most frequent collaborators. And perhaps even stranger, despite their many individual collaborations with Scorsese, the two have never appeared side by side under his direction. However with Killers of the flower moon (expected to release in 2023, but not fully confirmed yet) the two will finally appear side by side in a Martin Scorsese film. It only took them twenty years.
5 Dustin Hoffman
In Barry Levinson’s legal crime drama sleepers (1996), co-starred Robert De Niro Dustin Hoffman, and both received critical acclaim for their roles. A year later, they appeared in the leading roles of Wag the dog (1997) – also directed by Barry Levinson. It was even more revered than the trio’s previous project and even earned Hoffman an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He came up short for Jack Nicholson As well as possible in the given circumstances (1997).
They also appeared in Jay Roach’s comedy sequel Meet the Breeders (2004), but not to any significant degree. But thanks to these three collaborations, the two talented actors have actually grown closer over the years. Hoffman even likes to treat interviewers to a story about how Robert De Niro was once his waiter at a benefit dinner in the late 1960s. That certainly created an interesting dynamic for future collaborations.
4 Robin Williams
De Niro and Robin Williams only acted together in one movie – awakening (1990), written and directed by Penny Marshall – but the two remained close friends until 2016 with Robin’s untimely death. And on the set of awakening, the two shared many fond memories with each other. For example: Williams once went a little too far and broke De Niro’s nose with his elbow. Although, of course it was an accident.
This is a duo we all wish we’d seen more of, as De Niro’s more serious acting style lends great dynamism to Williams’ more comedic leanings. Of course, that’s not to say that Williams can’t deliver a gripping performance or that De Niro can’t crack a joke here and there, but still. The dynamic is clear nonetheless and they are two of the most popular and talented actors of their generation. They made a great pair while it lasted.
3 Joe Pesci
On this point, Joe Pesci is probably Robert De Niro’s most famous on-screen costar thanks to their many collaborations with American director Martin Scorsese. It all started with Raging Bull (1980), where the two played the LaMotta brothers: Jake (De Niro) and Tommy (Pesci). Then came the boxing drama Good day (1990) – easily their most famous film together – followed by Casino (1995) just a few years later.
And as many of you may have guessed, the two are legit friends. In fact, the actors both have a close relationship with Martin Scorsese as well, and De Niro helped convince the director Pesci to take on his role in the film. The Irishman (2019). It was his and Bobby’s fourth collaboration with Marty, and one that reunited the trio after more than twenty years. But Pesci and Bobby also enjoyed appearing in other films together Once upon a time in America (1984) by Sergio Leone, on top A Bronx story (1993) and The good shepherd (2006) – both directed by De Niro.
2 Mary Streep
Ever since they appeared side by side in Michael Cimino’s critically acclaimed war drama called The deer hunter (1978), co-starred Robert De Niro two more times with an American actress Mary Streep. Their second collaboration was with Fall in love (1984), and their third was with Marvin’s room (1996). Neither of the later two was nearly as respected as their first project together, but their friendship surpasses nearly all of their collaborations combined in terms of overall popularity.
Streep even cites De Niro as the biggest inspiration of her acting career, saying “he’s been my beacon for fifty years.” She loved to admire his early works Beat the drum slowly (1972) and Mean streets (1973), and channeled that energy into her own storied career. The two have said they don’t keep in touch often over the years, but when they do meet they are still as close as ever.
1 Al Pacino
Easily the most covert friendship of Robert De Niro’s life, he and Al Pacino first appeared in the same project (although not onscreen together) with The godfather part II (1974) by Francis Ford Coppola. More than two decades later, they starred together in Michael Mann’s heist thriller Heat (1995). And in the 21st century, they have collaborated twice more: once with Just murder (2008), directed by De Niro himself, and again with The Irishman (2019), directed by Martin Scorsese.
But as for their friendship, they’ve actually been close for over fifty years. Numerous questions have been asked about their relationship during interviews, and the wide coverage makes sense: these are two of the greatest actors Hollywood has to offer. And whether you’re having a conversation at a dinner table in Heat (1995) or developing a relationship behind the camera, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino will likely be linked for many years to come.