Harvey Keitel Biography

The son of Harry Keitel and Miriam Klein Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania he grew up in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn with his sister Renee and brother Jerry]. At the age of 16 Keitel decided to join the United States Marine Corps a decision which took him to Lebanon. After his return to the United States he was court reporter and was able to support himself before beginning his acting career.
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. 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.
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. Keitel was also fired from the set of Eyes Wide Shut Stanley Kubrick's last film halfway through production. He was replaced with Sydney Pollock.

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