Robert De Niro Unveils the Real Story Behind the Iconic Taxi Driver Scene
Robert De Niro shared the untold story behind one of the most memorable moments in director Martin Scorsese‘s 1976 classic Taxi Driver.
“Often, the best moments, although not always, are the ones that happen spontaneously,” De Niro, 81, stated on Live with Kelly and Mark on Thursday, February 20.
The renowned actor has frightened countless viewers with his performance as the deranged taxi driver Travis Bickle, who during a crucial scene confronts himself in a mirror while pulling out a gun as if in an imagined altercation.
“You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin’ to? You talkin’ to me? Well, I’m the only one here. Who the f— do you think you’re talking to?” Travis Bickle challenges his imaginary opponent.
In his conversation with Live hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, De Niro revealed that the iconic mirror scene in Taxi Driver was partly improvised.
“The producer of the film mentioned on a show that Marty had claimed it was entirely improvised. We had something scripted, though I don’t recall precisely what. But Marty has a much better memory than I do,” he confessed.
Ripa, 54, remarked that this partially improvised scene has become emblematic of De Niro, despite his extensive and illustrious 50+ year career.
De Niro commented on the authenticity of the mirror scene, stating: “[It was] performed spontaneously. You can never predict how things will evolve, and that unpredictability adds to the excitement of collaborating with someone like Marty Scorsese. It’s rewarding to have the freedom to explore different avenues while still staying true to the narrative’s core.”
De Niro earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role in Taxi Driver, although the prestigious award ultimately went to the late Peter Finch for his performance as the defiant news anchor Howard Beale in Network. The character of Travis Bickle was later honored as the 30th greatest movie villain in American Film Institute’s AFI 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villains list released in 2003.
In the early 2000s, both De Niro and Scorsese announced they were developing a sequel to Taxi Driver in collaboration with screenwriter Paul Schrader, but the project was ultimately abandoned in 2013 due to Scorsese’s dissatisfaction with the script.
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Taxi Driver remains a significant cultural landmark almost 50 years post its debut, having profoundly influenced Arthur Fleck’s descent into insanity in the 2019 film Joker, directed by Todd Phillips. A different iconic role played by De Niro, the troubled comedian Rupert Pupkin from Scorsese’s 1983 film The King of Comedy, also served as an inspiration for Joker.
More recently, De Niro participated in Saturday Night Live‘s SNL 50 celebration on Sunday, February 16, where he appeared in a “Debbie Downer” sketch alongside Jimmy Fallon, Ayo Edebiri, and Drew Barrymore. De Niro humorously tapped into his notorious villain persona by physically confronting Rachel Dratch‘s Debbie Downer before being removed by Fallon.
Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication.
