When Robert De Niro Turned Into NYC Cabbie For Taxi Driver Role & Left Behind This Proof Of His Method Acting

Robert De Niro sits at the very center of Taxi Driver, a film that rattled the spine of American cinema in 1976. The iconic movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, didn’t need bright colors or a heavy score to haunt the viewer. Instead, it relied on the slow burn of De Niro’s presence, emphasizing on the silent fuse of a man that dissolved inside the cracked pavements and greasy neon of New York City. The famous character, Travis Bickle (an ex-Marine and a Vietnam vet), came to life through De Niro’s patient transformation, who witnessed the world through a cab window.

Robert De Niro Drove A Real Cab To Prepare For The Role

Robert De Niro didn’t simply rely on performance tricks to pull the character from the page into flesh and bone. He literally signed up for the job, per Far Out Magazine. The Oscar winner delved so deep into his character that he got himself a real cab license, started pulling in twelve-hour shifts, and drove through Manhattan like a ghost with a meter.

While others saw a yellow cab, he built a ticking mind beneath the uniform and served as the epitome of method acting. Besides, between takes, he didn’t rest. He drove, and even when recognized, he stayed in role, reminding others and perhaps himself what it takes to fall that deep into someone else’s skin.

You talkin’ to me? Anyone recall getting picked up by Robert De Niro while he researched his famous role in ’76? #tbt pic.twitter.com/kn9szc4Yb3

— NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (@nyctaxi) May 22, 2014

Robert De Niro’s Performance Built On Silence And Restraint

Martin Scorsese has often credited De Niro’s quiet control in shaping the film’s tone. The legendary director once said, “Bob (De Niro) was very instrumental because he pointed out to me that the first line of dialogue was ‘Turn off the meter.’ And I did one take, and he said to me, ‘When you say – Turn off the meter – make me turn it off. Just make me turn it off.”

He added, “I’m not going to turn it off until you convince me that you want me to turn off that meter.’ So, I learned a lot. He sort of acted with the back of his head, but he encouraged me by not responding to me. And using that tension of the inherent violence, I was able to take off and riff some dialogue.”

Now, several decades later, the image of Travis Bickle, alongside his mohawk, the gun, and of course, the mirror, has become a permanent fixture in film culture. It doesn’t require any special mention that De Niro lived the role and let it leak into every scene with unnerving precision. After many years, even the Taxi and Limousine Commission recognized the weight of his preparation and released his old license as a kind of tribute. The expiration date read May 31, 1976.

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