Harvey Keitel

Date of Birth: May 13, 1939
Place of Birth: Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NY

Skin this page.

Harvey Keitel Biography

EasyEdit

(What's this?)

What's going on here?
Flixster members are collaborating to create the definitive resource for Harvey Keitel information on the Internet. We're adding all the images, info, and ideas that best tell this actor's unique story. To add your knowledge of Harvey Keitel, just log in and click the EasyEdit button at the top of the wiki pages. (Click here for help.)

Harvey Keitel mini-bio: 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, Who's That Knocking at My Door. Since then both Scorsese and Keitel have worked together on numerous projects. Keitel had the starring role in Scorsese's Mean Streets but this proved to be Robert De Niro's breakthrough film. He later appeared with DeNiro in Taxi Driver, playing the pimp Matthew for Jody Foster's character of Iris.

Originally, Keitel was to have played the role of Captain Willard in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. However, he was fired early in the production and replaced by Martin Sheen. After this, it was many years before he would be able to get anything other than minor roles. At the end of the 1970s, Keitel was mostly working in European films for directors such as Ridley Scott, usually in sinister character parts.

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 zenith when Keitel starred in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs in 1992, where his performance as "Mr. White" relaunched his semi-slumping career. Ridley Scott also helped Keitel by casting him in Thelma and Louise in 1991. That same year he landed a role in Bugsy, for which he obtained an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Since then, Keitel has chosen his roles with care, seeking to change his image and show off a broader acting range. His decision to co-star in Jane Campion's The Piano marks the approximate beginning of this phase of Keitel's career. Among some later roles to follow including Winston Wolf in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, the fatherly Satan in Little Nicky, a wise navy man in U-571 and a diligent F.B.I. agent in National Treasure.

VITAL STATS

Harvey Keitel Information:

Eye color:

Height:

Nickname(s):

Notable feature(s):

Education:

Family:

Resides in:

Religious affiliations:

Political affiliation:

Personal interests/hobbies:

Charities/Causes:

Other:

Photos

Meet Other Fans

Comments

NoirChick

Harvey is a great actor...one of my faves. Plus, he has a nice butt that he seems to enjoy showing off in half of his films. (He also likes to show his penis, which unfortunately isn't as impressive as his posterior).

posted 409 days ago
AussieJenni

45 Trailer Videos for Harvey Keitel

http://www.videodetective.com/actor/HARVEY_KEITEL/video/P00003146.htm

Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
City of Industry (1997)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Be Cool (2005)
Head Above Water (1996)
Two Evil Eyes (1990)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2005)
Clockers (1995)
The January Man (1989)
Puerto Vallarta Squeeze (2004)
Get Shorty (1995)
Blindside (1987)
Red Dragon (2002)
Imaginary Crimes (1994)
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987)
Nailed (2001)
Monkey Trouble (1994)
The Pick-Up Artist (1987)
The Grey Zone (2001)
Somebody to Love (1994)
Wise Guys (1986)
Little Nicky (2000)
Dangerous Game (1993)
Un Complicato Intrigo Di Donne, Vicoli E Delitti (1985)
U-571 (2000)
Point of No Return (1993)
Falling in Love (1984)
Prince of Central Park (1999)
Rising Sun (1993)
Eagle's Wing (1979)
Three Seasons (1999)
The Piano (1993)
Fingers (1978)
Finding Graceland (1998)
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)
Finding Graceland (1998)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)
Lulu On The Bridge (1998)
Bugsy (1991)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Shadrach (1998)
Mortal Thoughts (1991)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

posted 582 days ago
boroboy01

i think this guy is a top quality actor unfortunately overlooked for roles. i think in pulp fiction he steals the screen from jackson and travolta in the role as mr.wolfe.

posted 807 days ago
osminog9

Out of all the characters in Reservoir Dogs, Mr. White's personality matches my own.
While people can blather on about Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), the incredible psycho, Mr. White was the mature, cool-headed member of the group, yet let his loyalties betray him at the end...exactly as I would have done.
I've seen him in other movies and he's a great actor, but IMHO Mr. White was his defining character.

posted 970 days ago
dansamouretmort

harvey keitel is the only famous actor i've ever met...so i love him <3

posted 978 days ago
manueljss

Keitel appears on Be Cool with John Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Dwayne Johnson (The Rock).

posted 995 days ago
fostersanchez

yup that was michale madsen not keitel, i just love how he plays the older more expiriencd hitman or what ever he is in reservoir dogs hes just cool and chill in the movie!

posted 1016 days ago
YlowBstard

Michael Madsen cut off the cop's ear, not Keitel!

posted 1093 days ago
beatlegeek

well i don't know why i came here tonight i got the feeling that something ain't right im so.... *cuts off ear*

posted 1114 days ago

More Top Actors

Harvey Keitel Experts

No Experts yet. Want your picture here? Click here.

Harvey Keitel Movies

The Dust of Time (Unrated, 2008)
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (PG, 2007)
My Sexiest Year (PG, 2007)
A Crime (Unrated, 2006)
Il Mercante di pietre (The Stone Merchant) (Unrated, 2006)
The Outsider (Unrated, 2006)
Shadows In The Sun (The Shadow Dancer) (Unrated, 2005)
One Last Dance (PG-13, 2005)
Gunslinger's Revenge (PG-13, 2005)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (PG, 2004)

View All Harvey Keitel Movies

Actor Skins

Harvey Keitel Skins & Layouts

Submit a Skin | Skins Gallery

click to preview

Harvey Keitel skin
by keitel10

22 profiles

Use on my profile!
click to preview

Default Skin
View with default skin

Harvey Keitel Trivia

What do the following actors all have in common? Peter Stormare Harvey Keitel Al Pacino Trey Parker Answer »
Whats the name of the actor/actress plays "The Wolf" in Pulp Fiction Answer »
Harvey Keitel was nominated for a Saturn Award for his role in From Dusk to Dawn? Answer »
Name the actor who starred in Reservoir Dogs Pulp Fiction Red Dragon Little Nicky Answer »

More Harvey Keitel Trivia