Photo: David Shankbone / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
For my money, Harvey Keitel is the connective tissue of modern American cinema. He gave Scorsese his first leading man, lent Tarantino's debut its gravity, and has spent six decades playing men balanced on a moral knife's edge without ever asking the audience to forgive them. What I admire is his refusal to be likable; he trusts the material and his own intensity instead. At 171 centimeters he is not physically imposing, yet he dominates frames opposite far flashier stars. Character actors rarely get the mythology that leading men do, but Keitel earned his—one unflinching, uncomfortable performance at a time.
Overview
Harvey Johannes Keitel ( ky-TEL; 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.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Harvey Keitel
- Name (Japanese)
- ハーヴェイ・カイテル
- Reading
- はーゔぇい・かいてる
- Born
- May 13, 1939 (age 87)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Rabbit
- Origin
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 171 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / film actor / character actor / screenwriter / television actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Abraham Lincoln High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Mean Streets | — | |
| Notable work | Taxi Driver | — | |
| Notable work | Reservoir Dogs | — | |
| Notable work | Pulp Fiction | — | |
| Notable work | The Irishman | — | |
| Notable work | Who's That Knocking at My Door | — |
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Film actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.