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YOU TALKIN' TO ME?
Robert De Niro revives Taxi Driver character Travis Bickle in huge money deal
ACTING legend Robert de Niro is reviving his iconic Taxi Driver character — as the face of a new Uber ad campaign.
The Oscar-winning star played troubled New York cabbie Travis Bickle in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 classic.
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De Niro will once again utter Bickle’s immortal line “You talkin’ to me” — only this time from behind the wheel of an Uber in a series of ads being filmed this week in London.
The 80-year-old is regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation, winning Academy Awards for The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull.
He was also nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Vietnam vet Bickle, who takes the job of a graveyard shift cab driver to cope with his depression and acute insomnia.
The Uber campaign is De Niro’s latest foray into advertising, having already fronted lucrative commercials for Warburton’s bread and the Kia Nero car.
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The star has also gone through several divorces and separations from the mothers of his children.
In April, he became a dad for the seventh time when partner Tiffany Chen gave birth to daughter Gia.
Of the upcoming Uber campaign, a source insisted: “It’s a great idea — Taxi Driver is one of the most iconic films of all time.
"But he’ll certainly get some stick for it too.
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“A lot of people feel like some of these classic films are his best work, and signing up to commercials is selling out a bit, but obviously he’s had a very expensive personal life.
“He’s going to be Travis Bickle, saying some phrases and playing up to it.
"His previous adverts have shown he has no problem poking fun at himself.”
Insiders say the brand also hopes to add famous passengers as cameos in the series of ads.
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