Harvey Johannes Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and producer. Known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters, he rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement.
Keitel has long been associated with Martin Scorsese, starring in six Scorsese films: Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967), Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and The Irishman (2019). He is also known for his roles in the Quentin Tarantino films Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) and the Wes Anderson films Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Isle of Dogs (2018).
Keitel's role as Mickey Cohen in Bugsy (1991) earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, while The Piano (1993) won him the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Other notable films include Blue Collar (1978), Thelma & Louise (1991), Bad Lieutenant (1992), Imaginary Crimes (1994), From Dusk till Dawn (1996), Cop Land (1997), Holy Smoke! (1998), U-571 (2000), National Treasure (2004), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), and Youth (2015).
Keitel, Al Pacino, and Ellen Burstyn were co-presidents of the Actors Studio from 1995 to 2017.
Early life
Harvey Johannes Keitel was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on May 13, 1939, the son of Jewish immigrants Miriam (née Klein; 1911–1987) and Harry Keitel (1904–2000). His mother was Romanian and his father was Polish. His parents owned and ran a luncheonette, and his father also worked as a hat maker. He grew up with his older sister Renee and older brother Jerry in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach neighborhood. He attended Abraham Lincoln High School and enlisted in the Marines at the age of 16. eventually landing roles in some Off-Broadway productions. After viewing the first week's footage, Coppola replaced Keitel with a casting session favorite, Martin Sheen.
Keitel continued to do work on both stage and screen in the 1980s, often in the stereotypical role of a thug. Keitel played a corrupt police officer in the 1983 thriller Copkiller (co-starring musician John Lydon), before taking a supporting role in the romantic drama Falling in Love (1984), starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. Between 1985 and 1988, he was one of the busiest character actors around, appearing in 16 films and telefilms, including Brian De Palma's mobster comedy Wise Guys (1986), starring Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo, and as Judas in Martin Scorsese's controversial The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).
thumb|left|Keitel and [[Harry Belafonte in 2011]]
Keitel co-starred with Jack Nicholson in the Chinatown sequel The Two Jakes (1990), directed by Nicholson. Ridley Scott cast Keitel as the sympathetic policeman in Thelma & Louise in 1991; that same year, Keitel landed a role in Barry Levinson's Bugsy, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The following year, Keitel played another mobster in the Whoopi Goldberg-starring comedy Sister Act which was a commercial success at the box office.
Keitel starred in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (which he co-produced) in 1992, and appeared in Tony Bui's award-winning directorial debut, Three Seasons (which Keitel also executive produced). Keitel also re-teamed with Jane Campion for Holy Smoke! (co-starring Kate Winslet).
In 2001 Keitel played opposite roles: as a U.S. Army denazification investigator in the film Taking Sides and as SS-Oberscharführer Erich Muhsfeldt in the film The Grey Zone. In 2002, at the 24th Moscow International Film Festival, Keitel was honored with the Stanislavsky Award for his outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school. He also appeared in the Steinlager Pure commercials in New Zealand in 2007.
In 2008, Keitel played Jerry Springer in the New York City premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall. In 2009, he made a cameo appearance in the Jay-Z video for "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)", a nod to his Brooklyn origins. In 2013, he appeared in a music video for "Pretty Hurts" by Beyoncé. In 2013, he starred in the independent film A Farewell to Fools.
Between 2014 and early 2020, he reprised his role of Winston Wolf from Pulp Fiction as part of a £40 million television advertising campaign for British insurance company Direct Line. In 2021, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Newport Beach Film Festival. In 2022, Keitel starred in Steven Brand's noir thriller Joe Baby alongside Dichen Lachman, Willa Fitzgerald and Ron Perlman. Keitel has recently collaborated with Wes Anderson acting in minor roles in his films Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Isle of Dogs (2018). He reunited with Martin Scorsese after 30 years appearing as Philadelphia crime family acting boss Angelo Bruno in his gangster movie The Irishman (2019) alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. He reprised his role FBI Agent Peter Sadusky in the recent Disney+ series National Treasure: Edge of History (2022).
Personal life
thumb|Keitel and [[Daphna Kastner in 2010]]
From 1982 to 1993, Keitel was in a relationship with American actress Lorraine Bracco, which ended acrimoniously and triggered a prolonged custody battle over their daughter Stella (born 1985). He dated American potter Lisa Marie Karmazin from 2000 to 2001, after they met in Israel. They have a son named Hudson (born 2001), with whom Keitel does not have any relationship. Karmazin took Keitel to court for child support, and he settled in 2004.
Keitel reconnected with Canadian actress Daphna Kastner at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2001, having gone on a date with her in the 1980s before they lost contact. They married three weeks later in Jerusalem. Their son, Roman (born 2004), is also an actor.
In July 2017, Keitel became an honorary citizen of Romania's Maramureș County, from where his mother hailed.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="row" ! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" ! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1967
| Reflections in a Golden Eye
| Soldier
| Uncredited
|-
| Who's That Knocking at My Door
| J.R.
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1970
| Street Scenes 1970
| Himself
|
|-
| Brewster McCloud
| The Photographer
| Uncredited
|-
! scope="row" | 1973
| Mean Streets
| Charlie Cappa
|
|-
! scope="row" | 1974
| Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
| Ben
|
|-
! scope="row" | 1975
| That's the Way of the World
| Coleman Buckmaster
|
|-
! rowspan="4" scope="row" | 1976
| Taxi Driver
| Charles "Sport" Rain / Matthew Higgins
|
|-
| Mother, Jugs & Speed
| Tony "Speed" Malatesta
|
|-
| Buffalo Bill and the Indians
| Ed Goodman
|
|-
| Welcome to L.A.
| Ken Hood
|
|-
! scope="row" | 1977
| The Duellists
| Feraud
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1978
| Blue Collar
| Jerry Bartowski
|
|-
| Fingers
| Jimmy "Fingers"
|
|-
! scope="row" | 1979
| Eagle's Wing
| Henry
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1980
| Death Watch
| Roddy
|
|-
| Saturn 3
| Captain Benson
| Voice dubbed by Roy Dotrice
|-
| Bad Timing
| Inspector Netusil
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1982
| The Border
| "Cat"
|
|-
| That Night in Varennes
| Thomas Paine
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1983
| Copkiller
| Lieutenant Fred O'Connor
|
|-
| Exposed
| Rivas
|
|-
| Une pierre dans la bouche
| Tony
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1984
| Falling in Love
| Ed Lasky
|
|-
|Nemo
| Mr. Legend
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1985
| Camorra
| Frankie
|
|-
| The Knight of the Dragon
| Clever
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1986
| Off Beat
| Mickey
|
|-
| Wise Guys
| Bobby DiLea
|
|-
| The Men's Club
| Solly Berliner
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1987
| The Inquiry
| Pontius Pilate
|
|-
| Blindside
| Penfield Gruber
|
|-
| The Pick-up Artist
| Alonzo Scolara
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1988
| The Last Temptation of Christ
| Judas Iscariot
|
|-
| Dear Gorbachev
| Nikolaj Bucharin
|
|-
! scope="row" | 1989
| The January Man
| Police Commissioner Frank Starkey
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1990
| Two Evil Eyes
| Roderick Usher
| Segment: "The Black Cat"
|-
| The Two Jakes
| Julius "Jake" Berman
|
|-
| Grandi cacciatori
| Thomas
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1991
| Mortal Thoughts
| Detective John Woods
|
|-
| Thelma & Louise
| Detective Hal Slocumb
|-
| Bugsy
| Mickey Cohen
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1992
| Reservoir Dogs
| Larry Dimmick / Mr. White
| Also co-producer
|-
| Bad Lieutenant
| The Lieutenant
|
|-
| Sister Act
| Vince LaRocca
|
|-
! rowspan="5" scope="row" | 1993
| Point of No Return
| Victor, The Cleaner
|
|-
| The Piano
| George Baines
|
|-
| Rising Sun
| Lieutenant Tom Graham
|
|-
| Dangerous Game
| Eddie Israel
|
|-
| The Young Americans
| DEA Agent John Harris
|
|-
! rowspan="4" scope="row" | 1994
| Monkey Trouble
| Azro
|
|-
| Pulp Fiction
| Winston "The Wolf" Wolf
|
|-
| Somebody to Love
| Harry Harrelson
|
|-
| Imaginary Crimes
| Ray Weiler
|
|-
! rowspan="5" scope="row" | 1995
| Smoke
| Augustus "Auggie" Wren
|
|-
| Blue in the Face
| Augustus "Auggie" Wren
| Also executive producer
|-
| Ulysses' Gaze
| A.
|
|-
| Clockers
| Detective Rocco Klein
|
|-
| Get Shorty
| Himself
| Uncredited cameo
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1996
| From Dusk till Dawn
| Jacob Fuller
|
|-
| Head Above Water
| George
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1997
| City of Industry
| Roy Egan
|
|-
| Cop Land
| Ray Donlan
|
|-
| FairyTale: A True Story
| Harry Houdini
|
|-
! rowspan="5" scope="row" | 1998
| Shadrach
| Vernon
|
|-
| Lulu on the Bridge
| Izzy Maurer
|
|-
| Finding Graceland
| Elvis
|
|-
| Sweets of Roses
| Hubie
| Voice
|-
| Gunslinger's Revenge
| Johnny Lowen
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1999
| Three Seasons
| James Hager
| Also executive producer
|-
| Holy Smoke!
| P.J. Waters
|
|-
| Presence of Mind
| The Master
|
|-
! rowspan="4" scope="row" | 2000
| U-571
| CPO Henry Klough
|
|-
| Prince of Central Park
| The Guardian
|
|-
| Little Nicky
| Satan
|
|-
| Viper
| Leone
| Voiced dubbed by Giancarlo Giannini
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 2001
| Nailed
| Tony Romano
|
|-
| The Grey Zone
| SS-Oberscharführer Erich Muhsfeldt
| Also executive producer
|-
| Taking Sides
| Major Steve Arnold
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 2002
| Ginostra
| Matt Benson
|
|-
| Red Dragon
| FBI Agent Jack Crawford
|
|-
| Beeper
| Zolo
|
|-
! rowspan="5" scope="row" | 2003
| Crime Spree
| Frankie Zammeti
|
|-
| The Galíndez File
| Edward Robards
|
|-
| Who Killed the Idea?
| Private Investigator
| Short film
|-
| Dreaming of Julia
| "Che"
| Also producer
|-
| Chasing the Elephant
| The Mystery Man
| Short film
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 2004
| Puerto Vallarta Squeeze
| Walter McGrane
|
|-
| National Treasure
| FBI Agent Peter Sadusky
|
|-
| The Bridge of San Luis Rey
| Uncle Pio
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2005
| Be Cool
| Nick Carr
|
|-
| Shadows in the Sun
| Weldon Parish
|
|-
! rowspan="4" scope="row" | 2006
| One Last Dance
| Terrtano
|
|-
| A Crime
| Roger Culkin
|
|-
| The Stone Merchant
| The Merchant Ludovico Vicedomini
|
|-
| Arthur and the Minimoys
| Miro
| Voice
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2007
| My Sexiest Year
| Zowie
|
|-
| National Treasure: Book of Secrets
| FBI Agent Peter Sadusky
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 2009
| Inglourious Basterds
| Allied Commanding Officer
| Uncredited voice
|-
| The Ministers
| Detective Joe Bruno
|
|-
| Wrong Turn at Tahoe
| Nino
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 2010
| A Beginner's Guide to Endings
| Duke White
|
|-
| Little Fockers
| Randy Weir
|
|-
| The Last Godfather
| Don Carini
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2012
| Moonrise Kingdom
| Commander Pierce
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 2013
| A Farewell to Fools
| Father Johanis
|
|-
| The Power Inside
| O'Mansky
|
|-
| The Congress
| Al
|
|-
! rowspan="5" scope="row" | 2014
| Two Men in Town
| Bill Agati
|
|-
| The Grand Budapest Hotel
| Ludwig
|
|-
| Rio, I Love You
| Himself
| Segment: "O Milagre"
|-
| By the Gun
| Salvatore Vitaglia
|
|-
| Gandhi of the Month
| Edward Baker
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 2015
| Youth
| Mick Boyle
|
|-
| Outlaws
| The Director
| Short film
|-
| The Ridiculous 6
| "Smiley" Harris
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2016
| Chosen
| Papi
|
|-
| The Comedian
| Mac Schiltz
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2017
| Madame
| Bob Fredericks
|
|-
| Lies We Tell
| Demi
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2018
| First We Take Brooklyn
| Anatoly
|
|-
| Isle of Dogs
| Gondo
| Voice
|-
! rowspan="5" scope="row" | 2019
| The Last Man
| Noe
|
|-
| Esau
| Abraham
|
|-
| See You Soon
| Billy
|
|-
| The Painted Bird
| Priest
|
|-
| The Irishman
| Angelo Bruno
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2020
| Fatima
| Professor Nichols
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2021
| Blood on the Crown
| General Hunter Blair
|
|-
| Lansky
| Meyer Lansky
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2022
| The Baker
| Merchant
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2023
| Paradox Effect
| Silvio
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2025
| The Wrecker
| Dante
|
|-
! scope="row" | 2026
| Hellfire
| Jeremiah
|
|-
! scope="row" |
| style="background:#ffc;"| Hard Matter
|
| Post-production
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key
| style="background:#ffc;"|
|Denotes films that have not yet been released
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="row" ! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Film
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" ! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
! scope="row" | 1966
| Hogan's Heroes
| German Soldier
| Uncredited<br />Episode: "The Great Impersonation"
|-
! scope="row" | 1966
| Dark Shadows
| Blue Whale customer
| Uncredited<br />2 episodes
|-
! scope="row" | 1968
| N.Y.P.D.
| Ramby
| Episode: "Case of the Shady Lady"
|-
! scope="row" | 1971
| Great Performances
| Jerry
| Episode: "A Memory of Two Mondays"
|-
! scope="row" | 1973
| Kojak
| Jerry Talaba
| Episode: "Siege of Terror"
|-
! scope="row" | 1974
| The F.B.I.
| Ernie
| Episode: "Deadly Ambition"
|-
! scope="row" | 1974
| A Memory of Two Mondays
| Jerry
| Television film
|-
! scope="row" | 1974
| Virginia Hill
| Bugsy Siegel
| Television film
|-
! scope="row" | 1984
| La bella Otero
| Ernest Jurgens
| Television film
|-
! scope="row" | 1985
| Amazing Stories
| Byron Sullivan
| Episode: "Vanessa in the Garden"
|-
! scope="row" | 1986
| The Ellen Burstyn Show
| Frank Tanner
| Episode: "Reading Between the Lines"
|-
! scope="row" | 1988
| The Play on One
| Carl
| Episode: "Down Where the Buffalo Go"
|-
! scope="row" | 1989
| This Ain't Bebop
|
| Television short
|-
! scope="row" | 1993
| Saturday Night Live
| Himself (host)
| Episode: "Harvey Keitel/Madonna"
|-
! scope="row" | 2000
| Fail Safe
| Brigadier General Warren A. Black
| Television film
|-
! scope="row" | 2002
| Saturday Night Live
| Siegfried
| Episode: "Robert De Niro/Norah Jones"
|-
! scope="row" | 2006
| The Path to 9/11
| John O'Neill
| 2 episodes
|-
! scope="row" | 2008–2009
| Life on Mars
| Lieutenant Gene Hunt
| 17 episodes
|-
! scope="row" | 2012
| Fatal Honeymoon
| Tommy Thomas
| Television film
|-
! scope="row" | 2016
| Inside Amy Schumer
| Proposition Man
| Episode: "Fame"
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2022
| Mike
| Cus D'Amato
| 2 episodes
|-
| National Treasure: Edge of History
| FBI Agent Peter Sadusky
| Episode: "I'm a Ghost"
|-
! scope="row" | 2024
|The Tattooist of Auschwitz
| Older Lale Sokolov
| 6 episodes
|}
Theatre
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="row" ! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" ! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1975 || Death of a Salesman || Happy || Circle in the Square, Broadway
|-
|1984|| rowspan=2|Hurlyburly || rowspan=2|Phil || Goodman Theatre, Chicago
|-
|1984–1985 || Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway
|-
|1985 || A Lie of the Mind || Jake || McGinn/Cazale Theatre, Off-Broadway
|-
|1986 || Goose and Tomtom || Bingo || Lincoln Center, New York
|-
|2008 || Jerry Springer: The Opera || Jerry Springer || Carnegie Hall Playhouse, New York
|-
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominated work
! class="unsortable" | Result
|-
| 1973 || rowspan=2|National Society of Film Critics Award || rowspan=2|Best Supporting Actor || Mean Streets ||
|-
| rowspan=2|1976 || rowspan=2|Taxi Driver ||
|-
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards || Best Supporting Actor ||
|-
| rowspan="6" | 1991 || rowspan="2" | National Society of Film Critics Award || rowspan="2" | Best Supporting Actor || Mortal Thoughts ||
|-
| Thelma & Louise ||
|-
| Academy Award || Best Supporting Actor || rowspan=4|Bugsy ||
|-
| Golden Globe Award || Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture ||
|-
| Chicago Film Critics Association || Best Supporting Actor ||
|-
|National Society of Film Critics Award || Best Supporting Actor ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1992 || Sant Jordi Award || Best Foreign Actor || Reservoir Dogs ||
|-
| Independent Spirit Award || Best Male Lead || rowspan=2|Bad Lieutenant ||
|-
|New York Film Critics Circle || Best Actor ||
|-
| rowspan="2" |1993 || Australian Film Institute Award || Best Actor in a Leading Role || The Piano ||
|-
| Venice Film Festival || Best Actor || Dangerous Game ||
|-
| rowspan=2|1995 || Berlin International Film Festival || Special Jury Prize || rowspan=2| Smoke ||
|-
|David di Donatello || Best Foreign Actor ||
|-
| 1996 || Saturn Award || Best Supporting Actor || From Dusk till Dawn ||
|-
| 2000 || Blockbuster Entertainment Award || Favorite Supporting Actor – Action || U-571 ||
|-
| 2008 || Satellite Award || Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film || Life on Mars ||
|-
| 2014 || rowspan=2|Screen Actors Guild Award || rowspan=2|Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture || The Grand Budapest Hotel ||
|-
| 2019 || The Irishman ||
|-
|}