Robert Mario De Niro, Jr. (born August 17, 1943) is a two-time Academy Award
and Golden Globe-winning American film actor, director, and producer. He is often
listed among the greatest actors of all time. Robert De Niro Jr. was born to a family
of artists, his father, Robert De Niro Sr. was a Greenwich Village abstract expressionist,
while his mother, Virginia Admiral, was a painter. De Niro, who was also known as
"Bobby Milk" because he was so pale, was shy as a young boy. Rather than playing
with the other children in his Little Italy neighborhood, he preferred reading novels.

He is noted for his methodist acting and portrayal of conflicted, troubled characters and
for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese. He is best known for his
roles as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, cabbie Travis Bickle in Taxi
Driver, boxer Jake La Motta in Raging Bulland mobsters Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas
and Al Capone in The Untouchables.

Face to face with fellow legendary actor Al Pacino in Heat and an outstanding performance,
he doesn't quite succeed in the film Ronin, which although has a fantastic car chase scene,
does not quite make it asa high point in De Niro's career. Other notable roles in De Niro's
films of the '90s include: Marvin's Room, Jackie Brown, Wag the Dog and Analyze This
(both in more comedic roles), and Flawless. Great Expectations is worth seeing for
Gwyneth Paltrow alone.

De Niro is a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party, and vocally supported Al Gore in
the 2000 presidential election. Filmmaker Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11
includes a clip of De Niro standing next to Gore at a rally; Moore identifies him as "that Taxi
Driver guy". De Niro publicly supported John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. In 1998,
he lobbied Congress against impeaching President Bill Clinton,[13]. De Niro also narrated 9/11,
a documentary about the September 11, 2001 attacks, shown on CBS and centering on video
footage made by Jules Naudet and Gedeon Naudet, which focused on the role of firefighters
following the attacks. De Niro was reportedly a supporter of the invasion of  Iraq but his comments
on February 4 corrected that speculation when he made a speech including the endorsement:
"He (Obama) wasn't experienced enough to vote to authorise the invasion of Iraq...That's the
kind of inexperience I could get used to". While promoting his movie The Good Shepherd with
co-star Matt Damon on the December 8, 2006 episode of Hardball with Chris Matthews at
George Mason University, De Niro was asked who he would like to see as president of the
United States. De Niro responded, "Well, I think oftwo people: Hillary Clinton and Obama".
On February 4, 2008, De Niro supported Obama at a rally at the Izod Center in New Jersey
before Super Tuesday

In addition to his entertainment industry commitments, De Niro created and co-owns the
Tribeca Grill, which is located on the first two floors of his lower-Manhattan film center
(which in turn is located in an historic coffee distribution building) and is decorated with
his father's artwork.