15 Film Stars You Couldn’t Recognize In Films
12. Robert De Niro: Raging Bull
One of the first body transformations that amazed the world was this one.
Apart from training like a maniac for a role of an aging boxer, De Niro put on a lot of weight. He was such a good boxer at the end of the shooting that he could actually professionally compete. A fact that confirms this is the injury that his sparring partner received – Raging Bull, indeed.
To prepare for the role, De Niro undertook serious and strenuous physical training, after which he actually won two out of three genuine box matches in Brooklyn. Back in 1978, Scorsese was in a mess after recovering from a cocaine overdose in a hospital, and as De Niro came in told him they have to make a movie about a boxer, Scorsese firmly rejected the idea, since he wasn’t into sports at all.
Upon De Niro insisting, he accepted to make the movie, which got into movie anthologies, but also saved Scorsese’s life by getting him into work.
De Niro needed to gain 60 pounds for the movie, while Pesci had to lose some weight for the same scene.
This role brought De Niro an Oscar on March 31, 1981, for the best actor in a movie, which was a rare occurrence for a movie with such a theme. For the movie, De Niro did 100 rounds to become as authentic to the real Jake La Motta. He even met the guy and became friends to gain the real insight into his character.
La Motta claimed that De Niro copied his character perfectly, and that he’s also a talented boxer, whom he would enjoy training and managing. His performance of La Motta was ranked #10 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Performances of All Time. To make it look as realistic as possible, De Niro and Pesci were really hitting each other in the “hit me” scene.
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