Director Martin Scorsese has quite an impressive list of films to his name, including Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. But there is one actor whom Martin Scorsese seems to favor, and it’s not who you think.

In his many movies, the director has employed some of the best in show business, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jodie Foster, and Daniel Day-Lewis. However, there is only actor Martin Scorsese has called “the greatest actor of his generation.’

Martin Scorsese’s favorite actor and most frequent collaborator

The actor that the Hollywood mogul has worked with the most and called the “greatest” is Robert De Niro. The pair have worked on 10 films together over a period of 50 years, since 1973. They include a number of highly-rated films like the previously mentioned Taxi Driver and Goodfellas, as well as the pair’s newest film Flowers of the Killer Moon, which came out last month.

The celebrity further praised Robert by saying that his “creative impact in acting will always be felt so long as there are actors to express their art.”

“We met when we were 16 years old,” Scorsese added. “I think the first movie star I had worked with was Paul Newman in ‘The Color of Money.’ Before that…it was all just working with friends, almost like home movies… I was making a movie with my best friends.”

He continued saying that when working with those whom he considers friends, he wishes they could spend more time filming.

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“When I think about it I can’t believe how f*****g old these guys are. You can’t de-age friendships. We spent 108 shooting days [on ‘The Irishman’]; I wish we could have shot for 108 more. Marty, can we do some reshoots?”.

The compliments go both ways

Robert De Niro has also spoken very fondly of his friend and co-worker.

The Meet The Fockers star said: “I consider myself very lucky to have that long of a relationship with him. I can’t imagine my life without it.”

He continued: “Marty is very sensitive about people and actors. He takes what actors give him and uses it.”

Robert continued: :He is aware and well-informed about things and likes to read stuff. Directors have to be well-rounded in many facets of life. He’s really great.”

Although other Hollywood greats have worked the iconic director, it seems De Niro comes out on top. This could be bad news for other stars, including Leo who has worked with Scorsese several times.

What has Martin said about Leo?

Leo, who often puts his craft before his health, has worked with the 80-year-old six times over the course of his career, including 2002’s Gangs of New York, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

“What’s great about Leo, and it’s why we work together so often, is he goes there. He goes to these weird places that are so difficult and convoluted, and through the convolution, somehow there’s a clarity that we reach,” Martin said in an interview with Deadline.

He continued: “And usually it’s in the expression, in his face, in his eyes. I’ve always told him this. He’s a natural film actor. I could shoot a close-up of him, he could be thinking of nothing, and I could intercut anything with it, and people will say, ‘Oh, he’s reacting to such and such’. It’s the Kuleshov experiment. You could do that with him.”

The Kuleshov effect is when audiences can interpret more meaning from a sequence of shots rather than just a single one.

“There’s something in his face that the camera locks into, in his eyes. The slightest movement, we know it. Thelma [Schoonmaker], editing his footage with me over the years, often goes, ‘Look at this. Look at the eye movement here. I think we should keep it.’ It’s very interesting what goes on behind the eyes. It’s all there.”

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