Robert De Niro confirms he will not be reprising Taxi Driver role for Uber ad
Classic film’s writer Paul Schrader responded to reports with disdain
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Your support makes all the difference.Robert De Niro has denied reports that he will be reprising his Taxi Driver role for an Uber UK advertisement.
The actor, 80, will be starring in an ad campaign for the San Francisco-based company, but has confirmed that it will not be tied to his iconic part in the 1976 film.
Earlier this week, reports emerged in The Sun that the Oscar-winning star would be reprising his role as Travis Bickle for an Uber ad.
Reports claimed that De Niro would appear in the ad and say his memorable line: “You talkin’ to me?”
The actor’s representative has denied that De Niro would be uttering the famous phrase, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “De Niro’s Uber commercial has nothing to do with his Taxi Driver character.”
The ad campaign is currently filming in London, and is scheduled to air sometime later this year.
Reports that the advertisement could be tied to Taxi Driver, which stars De Niro as an ex-marine and Vietnam veteran who works as a cabbie in New York City, were met with a less than enthusiastic response.
The movie’s writer, Paul Schrader, responded with a post on his personal Facebook page, writing: “Ouch. Why Bob would do this is beyond my reckoning. But I haven’t seen it. If I’m lucky, I never will.”
De Niro starred in Taxi Driver opposite Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel and Jodie Foster, who was 12 years old at the time.
Foster played the child prostitute who De Niro’s character decides to save from her pimp in an effort to clean up the streets of New York City.
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The Martin Scorsese-directed film earned the Palme d’Or award at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, as well as four Oscar nods, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
De Niro went on to work with both Schrader and Scorsese again in films including Raging Bull (1980).
He will next star in Scorsese’s forthcoming film Killers of the Flower Moon opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone.
The actor will be the latest celebrity to join Uber’s ranks.
Other celebrities to have promoted the service include Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Coolidge, Trevor Noah, and Sarah Silverman.
De Niro celebrated his 80th birthday on 17 August with a star-studded gathering in New York City.
According to reports, the intimate dinner was attended by stars including Scorsese, Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell, film director Francis Ford Coppola, Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken, and civil rights activist Al Sharpton.
Earlier this year, De Niro announced the birth of his seventh child while promoting his latest comedy film About My Father.
The revelation was made during an interview with ET Canada, after journalist Brittnee Blair remarked: “I know you have six kids.”
“Seven, actually,” De Niro replied. “I just had a baby.”
De Niro and his girlfriend, martial arts instructor Tiffany Chen, welcomed daughter Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro on 6 April.
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