Robert De Niro Explains How He Convinced Martin Scorsese To Direct The Movie That Got Their First Oscar Win

Robert De Niro reflects on Raging Bull and how he had to convince Martin Scorsese to direct the film. The 1980 boxing movie follows De Niro as Jake LaMotta, a real-life Italian-American boxing icon, and his struggles both personally and professionally. The movie is based on LaMotta's memoir, Raging Bull: My Story, and features a cast including Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Theresa Saldana, Frank Vincent, and Nicholas Colasanto.

Speaking with GQ, De Niro revealed that Raging Bull almost didn't come to be. The project was merely a hope and dream of his as he waited for Scorsese to be sure he wanted to make the film. De Niro read the book, and was impressed with its "heart." He presented it to Scorsese, who was initially reluctant to adapt the story. After numerous attempts to get Scorsese to agree to direct the movie, Scorsese had "some kind of epiphany" after being in the hospital.

Pete Savage, who was a friend of Jake's, and like a neighborhood guy, wrote the book, but I read it, and I said to Marty, I said, this is an interesting book. Read it, you know, it's not a great book, but it's got heart. It's interesting. Marty was not sure, and I was. I couldn't see anybody else but him doing it at that point. TaxiDriver, then we did New York, New York, and I was trying to get him to do RagingBull. Still, I had wound up doing The Deer Hunter.
So, more time was passing, but then after that, he was in the hospital for something at that time, and I just wanted him to do it. I told Joe Pesci, he was there with me. At one point, he came to say hi to Marty. I could not imagine him not doing it, but I was wondering whether he will do it, you know. And Marty had some kind of epiphany, or something, at that moment. It's something that I remember he tells it so he should, you know, tell this story if he committed to it, either then or right after, and or I was prepared for him to say no, but then he— whatever. And thank God he did it. I couldn't imagine it with anybody else.

What This Meant For Raging Bull

Scorsese Needed De Niro

De Niro's faith in Raging Bull is what helped it come to the big screen. Based upon his interview, it's clear that the actor had more interest in the project than its director initially did. De Niro's passion for Raging Bull pushed Scorsese—"Marty," affectionately—to bring the book to life. This decision would be for the betterment of his career as Raging Bull was once voted the best sports movie of all time.

How Raging Bull & Robert De Niro Saved Martin Scorsese's Life

Martin Scorsese may not have gone on to direct Goodfellas if Robert De Niro hadn't kept pushing Raging Bull during a turning point hospital visit.

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Bringing LaMotta's story to life is no easy feat, and Scorsese did it with his profound expertise behind the lens. Despite initially being bored by the story, the director would ultimately benefit from Raging Bull as the film picked up two wins at the 53rd Academy Awards for Best Editing and Best Actor. These awards were Scorsese's first Oscars, but not his last, as he would later win Best Director and Best Picture for 2007's The Departed. Raging Bull was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound.

Our Take On Scorsese's Epiphany

Raging Bull Was A Win For Scorsese

Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull's ending. — Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in *Raging Bull*'s ending.

Raging Bull is widely considered one of Scorsese's best works, and De Niro's role as LaMotta is praised as one of his finest performances. The world of cinema benefited from Scorsese's sudden decision to direct the black-and-white Raging Bull, but this wouldn't have happened without De Niro encouraging him to create the masterpiece. The movie also continued their long partnership, with the pair still working together as recently as 2023's Killers of the Flower Moon. Now viewed as a classic, De Niro pushing Scorses to direct Raging Bull ultimately paid off.

Source: GQ