Harvey Keitel

Harvey Johannes Keitel (Brooklyn, New York, May 13, 1939), is an American actor nominated for an Oscar. He has played roles in "tough guy" in various movies; however, he has also developed sensitive characters, such as George Baines in The Piano or the protagonist of The Gaze of Ulysses . Keitel also owns a production company called The Goatsingers with which he tries to get projects for young directors off the ground.

Biography

He was born in the New York borough of Brooklyn. The son of Jewish immigrants of Polish (father's) and Romanian (mother's) origin, he had a turbulent childhood, even getting expelled from school for absenteeism.

At the age of 17, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and took part in the conflict in Lebanon. In his own words, his time in the army was his first & # 34; spiritual experience & # 34;, a breaking point with the microcosm of the neighborhood and a means to face his fears and conflicts.

Professional career

Upon his return to New York, he worked selling shoes and as a court reporter in Manhattan, until a co-worker advised him to take acting classes, among other reasons to help him overcome a serious problem of dyslexia that had dragged on since his childhood. This is how he arrived at the prestigious Actor's Studio where he had such notable teachers as Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. He worked for a few years in the theater, in minor works until he responded to a press ad in which a young director, Martin Scorsese, was looking for actors for his first film Who's That Knocking at My Door: was immediately selected as the protagonist. Later he took part in several films by the same director, such as Mean Streets, Alicia no longer lives here, Taxi Driver, La última tentación of Christ and The Irishman.

A few years later, his career suffered a severe setback when he was replaced by Martin Sheen in the title role of Apocalypse Now. From then on, his important roles became scarce and he appeared in a large number of films of dubious quality. This situation was defined by the actor as "humiliating"; and he even thought of leaving the profession. From then on he developed much of his work in Europe, where he came to collaborate with such eminent directors as Bertrand Tavernier, Ettore Scola or Ridley Scott. He worked together with Miguel Bosé in El caballero del dragón (1985).

Despite his good acting skills, it was not until well into adulthood, in the 1990s, that he achieved some degree of recognition for his career and greater popularity, obtaining several critics' awards and an Oscar nomination. At this stage he took part in films such as Reservoir Dogs (of which he was also a co-producer), Pulp Fiction , The Piano , Thelma & Louise , Smoke or the controversial and extremely tough Bad Lieutenant , which marked a before and after in his career.

Private life

On a personal level, Keitel has been committed to social problems (he was a member of Unicef during the Bosnian War), he is passionate about reading, especially poetry and essays, and an expert in Havana cigars. He was romantically linked to actress Lorraine Bracco between 1982 and 1993, with whom he had a daughter named Stella Keitel-Bracco. He subsequently had relationships with several women, including actress Andie MacDowell.

In 2001, he married Canadian actress and director Daphna Kastner (b. 1961) with whom he has a son named Roman Keitel. He is also the father of another son, Hudson, from a short relationship with a California potter.

Filmography

Awards

Incomplete list

• Razzie Award
  • 1989 Worst secondary actor The Last Temptation of Christ - Nominee

• Sant Jordi Film Awards
  • 1992 Best foreign actor Reservoir Dogs - Winner

• Independent Spirit Awards
  • 1992 Best actor - Bad - Winner

• Venice International Film Festival
  • 1993 Best actor ("Golden Ciak") - Dangerous Game - Winner

• AFI Awards (Australian Film Institute)
  • 1993 Best actor The Piano - Winner

• Berlin International Film Festival
  • 1995 Jury Award - Smoke - Winner

• David de Donatello Awards
  • 1995 Best foreign actor Smoke - Winner

• Oscar Awards
  • 1991 Best cast actor - Bugsy - Nominee

• Golden Globe Awards
  • 1992 Best cast actor - Bugsy - Nominee

• Chlotrudis Award
  • 1995 Best actor - Smoke - Nominee

• Satellite Awards
  • 2008 Best cast actor - Miniserie or telefilm - Life on Mars - Nominee

• Saturn Awards
  • 1996 Best cast actor - Open until dawn - Nominee