Robert De Niro addresses reports he will reprise Taxi Driver role in advert

Virgin Radio

25 Sep 2023, 14:02

He has played some of the most iconic movie characters of all time, but is Robert De Niro going to reprise his role as Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver? 

There have been reports lately that the legendary actor is set to once again play the role of the, shall we say, somewhat disgruntled cabbie in a new advert.

Having wowed critics and audiences with his performance as Bickle, the gun-toting, mohawked taxi driver in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 classic, rumours emerged that the actor would be inhabiting the character again in an Uber commercial, and that he would be uttering his immortal line, “You talkin’ to me?”.

These rumours caused Taxi Driver’s screenwriter Paul Schrader to take to social media to say: “Ouch. Why Bob would do this is beyond my reckoning. But I haven't seen it. If I'm lucky I never will.”

However, it appears that the reports aren’t quite accurate.

In a statement, Uber said: “We are filming with Robert De Niro in London for a new Uber UK campaign, which will launch later in the year," but it has been made clear that the character of Travis Bickle won’t be part of the ads. De Niro’s representative Stan Rosenfield said in a statement: “De Niro’s Uber commercial has nothing to do with his Taxi Driver character.”

The star has previously featured in commercials for Warburton’s bread, Kia Niro car, Santander bank and American Express.

The Hollywood A-lister will next be seen in Scorsese's upcoming film Killers of the Flower Moon, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio. It is set to land in cinemas next month. 

The actor has become a dad again for the seventh time in April of  this year.