Yeah, ‘Bobby Milk’ is talkin’ to you

The film “Everybody’s Fine” opens on Friday. What you may not know about this film, which stars Robert De Niro as a father visiting his children during the Christmas holidays, is that it’s based on a 1990 Italian film by Giuseppe Tornatore ( “Stanno tutti bene”).

Here are some thing that you may not know about De Niro:

He won his first Oscar for 1974’s “The Godfather II.” He played Vito Corleone, making Marlon Brando and him the only two actors to win Oscars for playing the same characters. Brando won his Best Actor Oscar for playing the elder Corleone in 1972’s “The Godfather.”

De Niro’s first movie acting job came in 1963 when he was cast in Brian De Palma’s “The Wedding Party.” The film wasn’t released, however, until 1969. His first screen appearance came in Marcel Carne’s 1965 film “Trois chambres a Manhattan.”

Yes, his “You talkin’ to me?” lines in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film “Taxi Driver” were improvised. Mostly. Paul Schrader is the screenwriter of record.

De Niro was offered the role played by Martin Sheen in Scorsese’s 2006 film “The Departed.” His shooting schedule for “The Good Shepherd” conflicted with Scorsese’s calendar.

De Niro was born in the Little Italy section of New York’s borough of Manhattan. As a kid he was nicknamed “Bobby Milk” because, so go the stories, he was was so thin and pale.

Below : Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in “Taxi Driver.”