After cementing his star status with his Oscar-winning performance in The Godfather Part II <\/a> (1974), the legendary actor, 82, continued his rise with Martin Scorsese\u2019s 1976 drama Taxi Driver. <\/p>\n The critically acclaimed crime noir \u2014\u00a0which follows De Niro\u2019s Travis Bickle, a disturbed insomniac, as he<\/a> takes a job as a New York City cab driver and embarks on an obsessive attempt to rescue 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) \u2014 earned him his second acting Oscar nomination.<\/p>\n However, De Niro recently revealed that he originally doubted its enduring quality<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cYou never can think that you\u2019re doing something that\u2019s going to have an impact,\u201d he told Page Six<\/a> during an interview ahead of the 25th edition of New York City\u2019s Tribeca Film Festival, which he co-founded with producer Jane Rosenthal.<\/p>\n De Niro said he never approaches a project expecting it to be a hit, explaining that he \u201cjust never look[s] at it that way\u201d and acknowledging that success is \u201cout of your control.\u201d<\/p>\n In February, Taxi Driver celebrated its 50th anniversary. Following its 1976 debut, it landed four Oscar nods, including Best Picture. Both Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader, however, were overlooked for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, and the top prize ultimately went to John G. Avildsen\u2019s beloved boxing drama Rocky.<\/p>\n Speaking to Deadline earlier this month<\/a>, Schrader, a famous director himself, said he was not surprised that the movie did not win any Oscars.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t a bit thrown that Taxi Driver did not win,\u201d the American Gigolo director insisted. \u201cIf you look at that category of Original Screenplay, it probably was the most original screenplay of that year, but it was just too controversial.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that, in fact, Columbia Pictures \u201cwas caught off-guard when it started doing as well as it did. They had written it off as an outlier and that\u2019s why they didn\u2019t market test it or put marketing behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n Taxi Driver not only became a critical success but a commercial success as well, grossing $27.6 million worldwide.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one of those scripts that banged around town where everybody said someone else should make it,\u201d Schrader said, \u201cbut not us.\u201d<\/p>\n Taxi Driver also helped launch Foster\u2019s acting career. She was only 12 when she starred opposite De Niro. <\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Robert-De-Niro.jpeg\")
Robert De Niro said he never approaches a project expecting it to be a hit (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"De](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Robert-De-Niro-2.jpg\")
De Niro earned his second Oscar nomination for his leading performance in ‘Taxi Driver’ (Columbia Tristar)<\/p>\n