Harvey Keitel

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Film Actor · Born May 13, 1939 · United States Of America · Male

Harvey Keitel ( ky-TEL; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and producer. An Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominee, he has appeared in films such as Theo Angelopoulos' Ulysses' Gaze, Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and The Last Temptation of Christ; Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma & Louise; Peter Yates' Mother, Jugs & Speed; Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction; Jane Campion's The Piano; Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant; Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk till Dawn; James Mangold's Cop Land; Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel; and Paolo Sorrentino's Youth. Along with actors Al Pacino and Ellen Burstyn, he is the current co-president of the Actors Studio. 2Early life Keitel was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the son of Miriam (née Klein) and Harry Keitel, Jewish emigrants from Romania and Poland, respectively. His parents owned and ran a luncheonette and his father also worked as a hat maker. Keitel grew up in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, with his sister, Renee, and brother, Jerry. He attended Abraham Lincoln High School. At the age of sixteen, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps, a decision that took him to Lebanon, during Operation Blue Bat. After his return to the United States, he was a court reporter for several years and was able to support himself before beginning his acting career. 2Career Keitel studied under both Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg and at the HB Studio, eventually landing roles in some Off-Broadway production