2004 HONOREE - HARVEY KEITEL
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Harvey Keitel, born on May 13, 1939, grew up in the Brighton Beach section of
Brooklyn with siblings Renee and Jerry. At the age of 16, Keitel decided to join
the United States Marine Corps, a decision which took him to Lebanon. After his
return to the United States, he was court reporter and was able to support
himself before beginning his acting career. Keitel studied under both Stella
Adler and Lee Strasberg, eventually landing roles in some off-Broadway
productions. During this time, Keitel met another struggling filmmaker named
Martin Scorsese and gained a part in Scorsese's student production. Since then,
Scorsese and Keitel have worked together on numerous projects, including Mean
Streets (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976).
Throughout the 1980s, Keitel continued to find plenty of work on both stage and
screen, but it was usually in the stereotypical role of a thug. This role
reached its apotheosis when Keitel starred in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs in
1992, where his performance as Mr. White re-launched his semi-slumping career.
Ridley Scott also helped Keitel by casting him as the sympathetic policeman in
Thelma and Louise. Since then, Keitel has chosen his roles with care, seeking to
change his image and show off his broader range of acting abilities. He has also
shown a willingness to help other upstart filmmakers by appearing in their first
feature film. He has done this not only for Martin Scorsese and Quentin
Tarantino, but also Ridley Scott (The Duellists), Paul Schrader (Blue Collar),
James Toback (Fingers), and Tony Bui (Yellow Lotus). As an avid vacationer to
Fire Island, Keitel was a clear choice as the 2004 recipient of the Tony Randal
Lifetime Achievement Award. He was unable to accept the award at the festival
that year though as his wife, Daphna, had gone into labor, with their son Roman,
just days before the festival kicked off.
Website Cited: Wikipedia,
movies.yahoo.com,
imdb.com