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Harvey Keitel facts for kids

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Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel Cannes 2015.jpg
Keitel at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival
Born (1939-05-13) May 13, 1939 (age 86)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active 1966–present
Spouse(s)
(m. 2001)
Partner(s) Lorraine Bracco (1982–1993)
Children 3

Harvey Keitel (born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is famous for playing characters who are tough or have a complicated sense of right and wrong. He became well-known during the "New Hollywood" era.

Keitel has worked with director Martin Scorsese many times. He starred in six of Scorsese's films. These include Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967), Mean Streets (1973), and Taxi Driver (1976). He also appeared in The Irishman (2019).

He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Bugsy (1991). He also won an AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Piano (1993). Keitel has been in many other popular movies. Some of these are Thelma & Louise (1991), Reservoir Dogs (1992), and Pulp Fiction (1994). He also starred in National Treasure (2004) and its sequel.

Keitel has worked with director Wes Anderson on three films. These include Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). From 1995 to 2017, he helped lead the Actors Studio. This is a famous place where actors train.

Early life and beginnings

Keitel was born in New York City on May 13, 1939. He was the youngest child in his family. His parents were immigrants from Romania and Poland. They owned a small restaurant called a luncheonette. His father also made hats.

Harvey grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He had an older sister, Renee, and an older brother, Jerry. When he was 17, he joined the Marines. After leaving the Marines, he worked as a court stenographer for many years. This was before he started his acting career.

Acting career

Starting out (1967–1988)

Keitel studied acting with famous teachers like Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. He began acting in plays that were not on Broadway. During this time, he met filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Keitel got a main role in Scorsese's first movie, Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967).

Scorsese and Keitel worked together on many films after that. Keitel had a starring role in Scorsese's Mean Streets. This movie also helped Robert De Niro become famous. Keitel also starred in Taxi Driver (1976).

In the late 1970s, Keitel worked with new directors. He starred in Blue Collar (1978) and The Duellists (1977). He was also cast in the movie Apocalypse Now (1979). However, the director, Francis Ford Coppola, decided to replace him with another actor after the first week of filming.

In the 1980s, Keitel continued to act in many movies. He often played tough characters or police officers. He was in the movie Falling in Love (1984) with Robert De Niro. He also played Judas Iscariot in Martin Scorsese's movie The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).

Becoming a star (1990–2007)

In 1991, Keitel played a kind policeman in Thelma & Louise. That same year, he was in Bugsy. For this role, he was nominated for an Academy Award. He also played a mobster in the comedy Sister Act (1992).

Keitel starred in and helped produce Quentin Tarantino's movie Reservoir Dogs (1992). His role in this film made his career even bigger. He then started choosing roles carefully to show his acting range. He starred in The Piano (1993), for which he won an award. He also played Winston "The Wolf" Wolfe in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).

He continued to appear in many films throughout the 1990s. These include From Dusk till Dawn (1996) and Cop Land (1997). In 1999, he worked with Jane Campion again on Holy Smoke!. He also played the fatherly Satan in Little Nicky (2000).

Keitel was in the popular movie National Treasure (2004) as an FBI agent. He returned for the sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007). In 2002, he received a special award in Moscow for his great acting.

Recent work (2008–present)

In 2008, Keitel played a detective in the TV show Life on Mars. He also appeared in music videos for Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

From 2014 to 2020, he brought back his character Winston Wolf from Pulp Fiction for TV commercials. In 2021, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at a film festival.

Keitel has continued to work with Wes Anderson in recent years. He had roles in Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Isle of Dogs (2018). He also reunited with Martin Scorsese for the movie The Irishman (2019). In 2022, he appeared in the Disney+ series National Treasure: Edge of History.

Personal life

Keitel was in a long relationship with actress Lorraine Bracco from 1982 to 1993. They have a daughter named Stella. He also has a son named Hudson from another relationship.

In 2001, Keitel married Canadian actress Daphna Kastner. They have a son named Roman. Keitel is also an honorary citizen of Romania.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Harvey Keitel para niños

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