Harvey Keitel

American actor
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Quick Facts
Born:
May 13, 1939, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. (age 85)
Notable Works:
“Alien: Covenant”
Married To:
Daphna Kastner (2001–present)
Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):
"The Irishman" (2019)
"The Painted Bird" (2019)
"See You Soon" (2019)
"Esau" (2019)
"The Last Man" (2018)
"Isle of Dogs" (2018)
"First We Take Brooklyn" (2018)
"Lies We Tell" (2017)
"Madame" (2017)
"Paradise Inc." (2016)
"The Comedian" (2016)
"Chosen" (2016)
"Inside Amy Schumer" (2016)
"The Ridiculous 6" (2015)
"Youth" (2015)
"Gandhi of the Month" (2014)
"By the Gun" (2014)
"Rio, Eu Te Amo" (2014)
"Two Men in Town" (2014)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2014)
"The Congress" (2013)
"A Farewell to Fools" (2013)
"Moonrise Kingdom" (2012)
"The Last Godfather" (2010)
"Little Fockers" (2010)
"A Beginner's Guide to Endings" (2010)
"Wrong Turn at Tahoe" (2009)
"The Ministers" (2009)
"Life on Mars" (2008–2009)
"National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (2007)
"My Sexiest Year" (2007)
"Arthur and the Invisibles" (2006)
"Il mercante di pietre" (2006)
"The Path to 9/11" (2006)
"A Crime" (2006)
"One Last Dance" (2006)
"The Shadow Dancer" (2005)
"Be Cool" (2005)
"The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (2004)
"National Treasure" (2004)
"Puerto Vallarta Squeeze" (2004)
"Dreaming of Julia" (2003)
"El misterio Galíndez" (2003)
"Crime Spree" (2003)
"Beeper" (2002)
"Red Dragon" (2002)
"Ginostra" (2002)
"Nowhere" (2002)
"Taking Sides" (2001)
"The Grey Zone" (2001)
"Nailed" (2001)
"Vipera" (2000)
"Little Nicky" (2000)
"Prince of Central Park" (2000)
"U-571" (2000)
"Presence of Mind" (1999)
"Holy Smoke" (1999)
"Three Seasons" (1999)
"Il mio West" (1998)
"Finding Graceland" (1998)
"Lulu on the Bridge" (1998)
"Shadrach" (1998)
"FairyTale: A True Story" (1997)
"Cop Land" (1997)
"City of Industry" (1997)
"Head Above Water" (1996)
"From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996)
"Clockers" (1995)
"To vlemma tou Odyssea" (1995)
"Blue in the Face" (1995)
"Smoke" (1995)
"Imaginary Crimes" (1994)
"Somebody to Love" (1994)
"Pulp Fiction" (1994)
"Monkey Trouble" (1994)
"The Young Americans" (1993)
"Snake Eyes" (1993)
"Rising Sun" (1993)
"The Piano" (1993)
"Point of No Return" (1993)
"Sister Act" (1992)
"Bad Lieutenant" (1992)
"Reservoir Dogs" (1992)
"Bugsy" (1991)
"Thelma & Louise" (1991)
"Mortal Thoughts" (1991)
"Grandi Cacciatori" (1990)
"La batalla de los Tres Reyes" (1990)
"The Two Jakes" (1990)
"Due occhi diabolici" (1990)
"The January Man" (1989)
"Caro Gorbaciov" (1988)
"The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988)
"The Play on One" (1988)
"The Pick-up Artist" (1987)
"Blindside" (1987)
"L'inchiesta" (1987)
"The Ellen Burstyn Show" (1986)
"La sposa americana" (1986)
"The Men's Club" (1986)
"Wise Guys" (1986)
"Off Beat" (1986)
"Amazing Stories" (1985)
"El caballero del dragón" (1985)
"Un complicato intrigo di donne, vicoli e delitti" (1985)
"Nemo" (1984)
"Falling in Love" (1984)
"Une pierre dans la bouche" (1983)
"Exposed" (1983)
"Copkiller (l'assassino dei poliziotti)" (1983)
"La nuit de Varennes" (1982)
"The Border" (1982)
"Bad Timing" (1980)
"Saturn 3" (1980)
"La mort en direct" (1980)
"Eagle's Wing" (1979)
"Fingers" (1978)
"Blue Collar" (1978)
"The Duellists" (1977)
"Welcome to L.A." (1976)
"Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson" (1976)
"Mother, Jugs & Speed" (1976)
"Taxi Driver" (1976)
"That's the Way of the World" (1975)
"Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974)
"The F.B.I." (1974)
"Kojak" (1973)
"Mean Streets" (1973)
"Great Performances" (1971)
"N.Y.P.D." (1968)
"I Call First" (1967)

Harvey Keitel (born May 13, 1939, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American film actor known for his swaggering tough-guy persona and wryly gruff delivery.

Keitel served in the U.S. Marine Corps and then studied at the Actors Studio. In 1968 he made his film debut in Who’s That Knocking at My Door? (also released as I Call First). It was the first feature film directed by Martin Scorsese, and the two men later worked together on a number of notable movies, including Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), and Taxi Driver (1976).

Known for his Brooklyn accent and the intensity of his performances, Keitel played supporting or starring roles in such films as Bugsy (1991), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Mickey Cohen; Thelma and Louise (1991); Reservoir Dogs (1991), Quentin Tarantino’s violent film about a botched robbery; Bad Lieutenant (1992), an NC-17 crime drama about a corrupt police officer; and Jane Campion’s The Piano (1993).

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood
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Keitel’s later films included Pulp Fiction (1994), which reunited him with Tarantino; Red Dragon (2002); and National Treasure (2004) and its sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007). He then appeared in the comedies Little Fockers (2010), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014); the latter two were directed by Wes Anderson. Keitel played a film agent in the futuristic thriller The Congress (2014); an actor in the collection of short films Rio, eu te amo (2014; Rio, I Love You); and an aging film director in the melancholically cynical Youth (2015).

Keitel’s movies from 2018 included Anderson’s stop-motion animated feature Isle of Dogs. Keitel later reteamed with Scorsese on the mob drama The Irishman (2019), which also starred Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Keitel’s subsequent movies included the historical drama Fatima (2020) and Lansky (2021), a biopic about the gangster Meyer Lansky.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.