Who is the best mafia actor?
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DeNiro and Brando are two of the most well respected actors in movie history. Both had huge starring roles in mafia movies. Brando played Don Corleone in the original Godfather, while DeNiro played the younger version of Corleone in Godfather Part II. Both won Academy Awards for their roles. It's a tough choice, but who do you think is the better mafia actor?
DeNiroBorn in 1943 in New York City, Robert De Niro is an award-winning American actor, producer, and film director. Long-time collaborator with film director Martin Scorsese, Robert first gained fame in the 1973 "Bang the Drum Slowly.". De Niro received global acclaim for his performance of young Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 classic "The Godfather Part II", wherein he was awarded his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
This was followed by a stream of critically awarded performances, including the title character of Scorsese's "Taxi Driver", which earned him an Academy Award nomination. He was once more nominated for his work in "The Deer Hunter" and won the 1980 Oscar for Best Actor for his physique-altering performance as boxer Jake LaMotta in Scorsese's "Raging Bull". This was followed by a succession of critical and commercial successes, including "Brazil", "Goodfellas", "Awakenings", and "Cape Fear". He made his debut as a film director in "A Bronx Tale" in 1993.
Throughout the following years, De Niro continued to act in diverse roles, like in comedies like "Meet the Parents". He earned his sixth Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for the film "Silver Linings Playbook" in 2012. He worked with Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci once again in the 2019 crime epic "The Irishman", which earned him another Academy Award nomination. In 2023, he appeared in Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," for which he received his ninth Academy Award nomination, placing him in the company of actors like Spencer Tracy and Paul Newman.
De Niro has also been widely praised for his performances in films. He founded the production company TriBeCa Productions and co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival. He has been nominated for nine Academy Awards and two of those he has won, and two Golden Globes and the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also won a Kennedy Center Honor and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. He received an Honorary Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
This was followed by a stream of critically awarded performances, including the title character of Scorsese's "Taxi Driver", which earned him an Academy Award nomination. He was once more nominated for his work in "The Deer Hunter" and won the 1980 Oscar for Best Actor for his physique-altering performance as boxer Jake LaMotta in Scorsese's "Raging Bull". This was followed by a succession of critical and commercial successes, including "Brazil", "Goodfellas", "Awakenings", and "Cape Fear". He made his debut as a film director in "A Bronx Tale" in 1993.
Throughout the following years, De Niro continued to act in diverse roles, like in comedies like "Meet the Parents". He earned his sixth Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for the film "Silver Linings Playbook" in 2012. He worked with Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci once again in the 2019 crime epic "The Irishman", which earned him another Academy Award nomination. In 2023, he appeared in Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," for which he received his ninth Academy Award nomination, placing him in the company of actors like Spencer Tracy and Paul Newman.
De Niro has also been widely praised for his performances in films. He founded the production company TriBeCa Productions and co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival. He has been nominated for nine Academy Awards and two of those he has won, and two Golden Globes and the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also won a Kennedy Center Honor and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. He received an Honorary Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
BrandoMarlon Brando was born in 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska and died in 2004. He is considered one the greatest American actors of all time. His career spanned six decades in which he won many awards and accolades. He first gained fame in the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire, playing Stanley Kowalski, a role he originated on Broadway. He then went on to star in On The Waterfront, earning him both an Academy Award and Golden Globe.
Over the next few years, he would receive Oscar nominations for his roles in Viva Zapata!, Julius Caesar and Sayonara. During the 1960’s, he didn’t make much of a mark in filmdom, but his career took off again ten years later. In 1972, he took on what many consider his greatest role, as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This part earned him his second Oscar and Golden Globe awards. This film is one of the most successful movies of all time and loved by generations of filmgoers. Brando followed up with another Academy Award nominated role in Last Tango In Paris.
After taking a small break, Brando took on supporting roles in films such as Superman, for which he was paid a record breaking $3.7 million and 11.75% of the profits, earning a place in the Guiness Book of World Records at the time. Over the course of his career, Brando earned 8 Academy Award nominations with 2 wins, 8 British Film Academy nominations with 3 wins and 9 Golden Globe nominations with 4 wins.
Over the next few years, he would receive Oscar nominations for his roles in Viva Zapata!, Julius Caesar and Sayonara. During the 1960’s, he didn’t make much of a mark in filmdom, but his career took off again ten years later. In 1972, he took on what many consider his greatest role, as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This part earned him his second Oscar and Golden Globe awards. This film is one of the most successful movies of all time and loved by generations of filmgoers. Brando followed up with another Academy Award nominated role in Last Tango In Paris.
After taking a small break, Brando took on supporting roles in films such as Superman, for which he was paid a record breaking $3.7 million and 11.75% of the profits, earning a place in the Guiness Book of World Records at the time. Over the course of his career, Brando earned 8 Academy Award nominations with 2 wins, 8 British Film Academy nominations with 3 wins and 9 Golden Globe nominations with 4 wins.
