Came to prominence in the early films of Martin Scorsese after working in theatre for around a decade, particularly Malas calles (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976). Faded into anonymity in the 1980s even though he turned in some impressive performances in films by some of America's leading directors.
He reemergered into star status with his role as Mr. White in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992), Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant (1992), El piano (1993) 0110912. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Toby Cummings
He reemergered into star status with his role as Mr. White in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992), Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant (1992), El piano (1993) 0110912. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Toby Cummings
Spouse
| Daphna Kastner | (7 October 2001 - present) (1 child) |
Trade Mark
Often works with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro
Heavy Brooklyn accent
Frequently plays violent characters with a deep seated moral center
Intense emotional acting style
Trivia
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#95).
Served in the U.S. Marines. He was sent to Lebanon in 1958 during a
U.S. military intervention aimed at defusing a major political crisis
there.
Worked as a court stenographer in NYC for about 10 years while he was a struggling actor.
Worked as a salesman in a women's shoestore.
Ranked #37 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
His last name is pronounced "ky-tel".
Listed as one of Entertainment Weekly's 25 Best Actors.
Was in a long-term relationship with actress Lorraine Bracco (1982-1993). They had a daughter, Stella Keitel in 1985.
Met wife, Daphna Kastner
at the Toronto film festival on 11 September 2001 and married her in a
secret ceremony in Jerusalem, Israel three weeks later (7 October).
Operates his own film production company, The Goatsingers, with partner Peggy Gormley.
Shares two roles with Dennis Farina. At the end of Cómo conquistar Hollywood (1995), he plays the Dennis Farina character in the movie-within-a-movie. Farina also originated the role of Jack Crawford in Hunter (1986), a role that Keitel played in the remake El dragón rojo (2002).
He was originally cast as Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979). He was let go from the film, just two weeks into filming due to creative differences with director Francis Ford Coppola. Martin Sheen replaced him.
Like his good friend Robert De Niro, Keitel is usually very uncomfortable during interviews, often nervously laughing through them.
Although he frequently plays U.S. Italian characters, Keitel is
the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His mother, Miriam
(Klein), was from Romania, and his father, Harry Keitel, was from
Poland.
Is one of three actors to play Jack Crawford in the Hannibal Lecter films. He played the role in El dragón rojo (2002), while Scott Glenn played the role in El silencio de los corderos (1991), and Dennis Farina played the role in Hunter (1986).
He was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 24th Istanbul Film Festival. (16 April 2005)
Son, Roman, with wife Daphna Kastner. [August 2004]
Apocalypse Now (1979), from which he was fired, was loosely based on Joseph Conrad's novel, "Heart of Darkness". Although Keitel didn't appear in the final film, he does appear in Los duelistas (1977), which is based on another Conrad story.
He is Godfather to Michael Madsen's son Max.
Played a "cleaner" in both La asesina (1993) (Victor the Cleaner) and in Pulp Fiction (1994) (Winston "The Wolf" Wolfe").
Appears in Puerto Vallarta Squeeze (2004) opposite Scott Glenn, with whom he shared the role of Jack Crawford in the Hannibal Lecter films.
He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
In 1992 he played both a criminal pursuing a woman who is disguised as a nun by a police lieutenant in Sister Act: una monja de cuidado (1992) and a police lieutenant pursuing two criminals who raped a nun in Bad Lieutenant (1992).
At the Haifa International Film Festival, in Haifa, Israel. Married in Jerusalem a few days later. [October 2001]
In Istanbul for 24th International Istanbul Film Festival [April 2005]
In Washington, DC filming the La búsqueda (2004) sequel with Nicolas Cage. [March 2007]
Rehearsing for Broadway premiere of "Jerry Springer: The Opera." [January 2008]
As of 2014, has appeared in five films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Taxi Driver (1976), Bugsy (1991), El piano (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994) and Malditos bastardos (2009).
Personal Quotes
Everyone wants to learn something; maybe not everyone makes the
effort, because they get discouraged. I certainly was like that as a
teenager in Brooklyn, always trying to hide my ignorance. But you have
to find the strength to acknowledge that ignorance within yourself,
otherwise you are going to remain stagnant. I learnt a valuable lesson
with Ridley Scott.
My agent kept insisting that I go watch the show-reel of this
commercial director and I kept turning him down, thinking there was no
way that I was even going to consider working with a commercial
director. In the end I saw his reel and I was blown away by how great it
was.
I don't want people to think that awards amount to the value of an
actor. Real success means involvement - to engage oneself totally in
something. Unless you become involved, you will stay uninvolved. If
money is your god, you will accumulate money, but little else. If you
seek out the experience of something . . . you have a good chance to
have a full life.
[explaining why he supports a mandatory military draft] We, the
people, should participate in the privileges we have in this democracy
that we live in, and we should all share in the dangers and the risks
with our lives to protect the freedoms that we have.
I don't see how our
young men can feel they're part of the country if they don't
participate in the defense of the country - in the defense of our values
- when it's necessary to do so. I feel, strongly, that by excluding
themselves, they sacrifice something integral. They separate themselves
from the hero's journey - this journey we all must take to find
ourselves.
