Since the 1970s, Robert De Niro has been in a diverse range of films, delivering unforgettable performances that are still being studied to this day. De Niro has been nominated a whopping eight times at the Academy Awards. Five times in the Best Actor category, twice in the Best Supporting Actor category, and once in the Best Picture category as a producer. And out of those nominations, he has taken home the golden statue twice.
Some of the films he has been nominated for fall on a lot of major critics' lists of the greatest films ever made. His work in films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are memorable to audiences more than 40 years later. The pairing of De Niro and director Martin Scorsese makes up four of his eight nominations. Outside of that, he has worked with the likes of David O. Russell and Francis Ford Coppola on two very different films, where he delivers performances that captivate audiences. Here are the eight Oscar-nominated performances by Robert De Niro, ranked.
8 Awakenings (1990)
Penny Marshall's film Awakenings pairs De Niro with Robin Williams as a patient and doctor. De Niro plays a character by the name of Leonard Lowe. A man who is one of many at a hospital who remains catatonic until Doctor Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) discovers a drug that slowly begins to awaken the patients from their catatonic state. De Niro leads the way in a heartfelt performance that is matched with an early dramatic role from Williams. He would, however, be passed up for the golden statue at that year's Oscars, as the Best Actor award was given to Jeremy Irons for his role in Reversal of Fortune.
7 Cape Fear (1991)
The following year, Robert De Niro would be nominated for Best Actor again in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear. De Niro takes on the role of serial sexual abuser Max Cady. After he's released from prison, Cady begins to stalk and terrorize the family of the lawyer who put him behind bars. Cape Fear feels like an homage to classic thrillers of the '50s and '60s, just like its original film, which starred Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. De Niro is chilling in the role, but at times it can feel like some of the typical bad guys you see in thrillers. He would lose out again at the Oscars that year to Anthony Hopkins for his iconic role as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs.
6 Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Robert De Niro would get an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2012 for his role in Silver Linings Playbook, a film in which he played the character Pat Solitano Sr. Written and Directed by David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook is about a man who returns home looking to rebuild his love life and family life after being hospitalized for mental illness. The film is known for Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence's incredible performances. However, playing Cooper's father in the film, De Niro gives a near tear-jerking performance at times as a father trying to give his son guidance in a troubled time. He would lose Best Supporting Actor that year to Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained.
5 The Irishman (2019)
For a change of pace, Robert De Niro would actually be nominated in the Best Picture category for 2019's The Irishman. He was one of the producers of the film alongside director Martin Scorsese. The film is a moving morality tale that deals with the overall endgame of a life of crime. It should be mentioned that despite not being nominated for Best Actor as Frank Sheeran in the film, the journey De Niro takes us on through his performance is powerful and leaves you with a lot of existential dread by the time the credits roll.
4 The Deer Hunter (1978)
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Robert De Niro would receive a Best Actor nomination for Michael Cimino's Vietnam War drama, The Deer Hunter. A film hailed as one of the greatest Vietnam War films of all time. In it, De Niro plays Mike Vronsky, a Staff Sergeant in the military. The film is about the Vietnam War but focuses more on the effects of post-war life and post-traumatic stress. De Niro would lose to Jon Voight in that year's Best Actor category at the Oscars for his role in a similar post-Vietnam drama, Coming Home.
3 Taxi Driver (1976)
Playing the role of New York City cab driver Travis Bickle, De Niro would earn a Best Actor Oscar nomination in Martin Scorsese's neo-noir classic, Taxi Driver. He would lose the award to Peter Finch in Network. Travis Bickle is a Vietnam Veteran alone in the Big Apple. He suffers from PTSD and insomnia, and finds himself fed up with the inner workings of society and the crime-filled streets of New York. It is an incredible commentary on America in the 1970s and serves as a model for films that are character studies of people on the brink of insanity.
2 Godfather Part II (1974)
The Godfather: Part II would mark Robert De Niro's first ever Oscar win. Playing the role of a young Vito Corleone in the sequel to the original from two years prior, De Niro would snag Best Supporting Actor that year. Making him and Marlon Brando Oscar winners for playing the same character. We meet Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in the sequel, as he has inherited his father's criminal organization and begins to deal with the problems that arise inside of it. As we follow his journey, we are given flashbacks to his father, Vito (De Niro), as a young man. And we are given a glimpse into a father and son at different times in their lives.
The comparisons are a thing of cinematic beauty that also give us a sense of melancholy. Godfather Part II would also take home Best Picture that year and not only become the best sequel of all time but be mentioned in the discussion of the best films of all time.
1 Raging Bull (1980)
Robert De Niro would win Best Actor for his portrayal of boxer Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's film, Raging Bull. The film is a collision of incredible cinematic language by Scorsese and one of the greatest performances of all time by De Niro. The physical transformation of getting into the best shape of his life to play a young LaMotta and then gaining sixty pounds to play an older, bloated LaMotta is a testament to De Niro's dedication to his craft.
The film is more of a character study than a sports film that's focused on boxing. It's about a man's self-destruction. Jake LaMotta's horrific violence he uses in the ring to pummel his opponents starts to bleed into his personal life as he begins to use his anger towards his friends and family, thus leading to his downfall. It's an intimate portrayal that makes you forget that someone is actually playing the character. Which is why it tops this list.
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