Harvey Keitel: The Art of DarknessHarvey Keitel was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 13, 1939. Harvey was the youngest of 3 children, one brother and one sister. Harveys childhood was rough. He spent most of his times on the streets of New York. He was raised in a rather bad neighborhood, and he began to hang out with a local gang. Although things were bad, every summer he would go to Coney Island, climb rocks, and fish. He was a normal child raised in a very dangerous place, but he knew what was the right thing and what was the wrong thing to do. Although he was in a gang, he never really got himself into much trouble.
At the age of 16, Harvey Keitel did not know what to do with his life, so he decided to enlist in the Marines. Harvey was stationed in Lebanon, and stayed there for his 3 year term. When Harvey got out of the Marines in 1959, he was still unsure of what he wanted to do for a living. For the time being, he began a job as a shoe salesman. About a year later from selling shoes, Harvey began to take an interest in becoming an actor. He began to try out for part in off Broadway plays. Stella Adler and Strasberg found promise in Harvey Keitel, and they began to teach him ways to become a better actor. Even under these two stars wings, finding work was still very hard for Harvey. He did find some job opportunities in very off Broadway plays. While Harvey Keitel was a very good actor, it did not look like he was going to be going anywhere with acting. Harvey Keitel was about to give up on acting altogether, but he decided to give it a second chance when he answered a newspaper ad by Martin Scorsese, who at the time, was a NYU student looking for actors for his thesis work, Whos That Knocking On My Door?. When Harvey and Martin met, they became fast friends, and have stayed friends since than. Keitel has worked with Scorsese many times since than, and only Robert De Niro has worked with Scorsese more than Keitel. Things were looking good for Harvey Keitel, but his career took a downfall when he was passed over for a role in Francis Ford Coppolas Apocalypse Now. Throughout the 80s, Harvey Keitel still worked, but the roles he played were often the same, and were very mediocre at best. He seemed to play the stereotype of a thug in most of the films he was in. He finally broke away from these roles when he was casted in Jane Campions The Piano. Since than, Harvey Keitel has been in a variety of films, portraying him as a variety of people, and earning him many fans. His roles in Quentin Tarantinos Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction had given him a edgy side to his career. Harvey Keitel married actress Lorraine Bracco in 1982. The marriage lasted 10 years, when they divorced. He sued her over custody of their daughter, but he ended up losing. Keitel is appealing the verdict as of right now. Harvey Keitel has come very far in his life. From his hard childhood to becoming a successful actor. He has accomplished so much in his life, and he still continues to make movies. He still continues to defy many expectations that people have of him, and we can not wait to see what his next role will be.
