Robert De Niro recalls one of the biggest challenges of playing Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. Released in 1976 and directed by Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver is an award-nominated neo-noir thriller that follows Bickle, a mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran who descends into violent delusions while working as a cab driver in New York City. The film remains one of Robert De Niro’s most iconic roles as he transforms into a deeply disturbed, yet compelling antihero. Taxi Driver also features Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, and Albert Brooks.
In an interview with GQ, De Niro shares how Travis’ mohawk was physically difficult to manage, but ultimately served his character. While the look became an iconic emblem of Bickle, it required a meticulous application process from award-winning make-up artist Dick Smith. He used a latex cap to create the illusion, which limited De Niro’s movement but also reinforced Travis’ rigid and unnerving demeanor with a “stiffness in [his] neck.” Read what he had to say below:
The mohawk, Marty and I had met a neighborhood friend of his who was in the army. So he showed us a picture of people, the kids he was in the outfit with. One of them had a mohawk, or maybe even more than one. So we said, that’s an interesting idea, let’s try and do it.
At that time, I was gonna do The Last Tycoon with [Elia Kazan]. We talked about what are we gonna do because to have an actual mohawk would be great. And so I said, well, let’s talk to Dick Smith, who was a great make-up artist at the time and worked on Godfather I and II. And we did the test and it worked. He put a latex cap on my head and put the mohawk that he had made. And then blew through a little thing, a little beard stubble type thing on the rest of my head and it worked.
The only thing, because the latex back here [points to back of neck], I had to stay sort of upright the whole day or whenever we did shoot with that, because I didn’t want it to unstick, or we’d have to try and reapply it. And so I had like a stiffness in my neck, which I thought was good for the character and the scenes I had done, so it helped in that way.
What De Niro’s Latex Cap Means
How An On-Set Challenge Became A Character-Defining Trait
The mohawk is one of the most important visual elements of Taxi Driver. In the film, Travis shaves his head into a mohawk before attending a political rally where he plans to assassinate Senator Charles Palantine, signaling his full descent into madness. However, De Niro didn’t actually shave his head for the role because he was set to film The Last Tycoon soon after. Instead, legendary makeup artist Dick Smith—who also worked on The Godfather, The Exorcist, and Scanners, and later won an Academy Award for Amadeus—created the look using a latex cap and prosthetic hair.
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Though the cap was uncomfortable and forced De Niro to keep his head straight throughout Martin Scorsese’s classic movie, this unintended stiffness actually enhanced his portrayal of the manic vigilante. Due to the cap’s restriction, Bickle appeared even more wound-up and robotic as he traversed the streets of the city to clean up “scum.” This is a perfect instance of how even behind-the-scenes practical challenges can sometimes lead to creative breakthroughs, emphasizing the realism and intensity of a character without a deliberate intention.
Our Take On Travis Bickle’s Mohawk
Method Acting Goes Beyond Intention
De Niro’s dedication to his craft has long been a defining feature of his career, from Raging Bull to Cape Fear, and the 1976 film Taxi Driver stands as one of the best examples of his method-acting approach. The fact that something as seemingly minor as a latex mohawk cap became a critical element of Travis Bickle’s dynamism is a fascinating look into how even the smallest details can have an impact on an actor’s performance. It’s surely another reason why Taxi Driver continues to be revered nearly 50 years later.
Source: GQ
Taxi Driver
10/10
- Release Date
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February 9, 1976
- Runtime
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114 Minutes
- Writers
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Paul Schrader