The Irishman and Pulp Fiction actor Harvey Keitel once played a dog. With decades of experience to his name and an Oscar nomination for his role in 1991’s Bugsy, Keitel is instantly recognizable to many – particularly fans of Quentin Tarantino.

Throughout his extensive career, Keitel has starred in some of Tarantino’s most successful films, including the famed director’s breakout effort, Reservoir Dogs. In addition to that film, Keitel played the enigmatic character known only as The Wolf in Pulp Fiction, as well as the voice of the OSS Commander who agrees to the deal between Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) and the allies at the end of Inglourious Basterds. Keitel’s most recent role is in Martin Scorsese’s highly praised The Irishman, which tells the story of notorious mob hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran and the steps that ultimately lead to the death of American labor union leader, Jimmy Hoffa. The film is currently generating plenty of Oscar buzz for its hugely talented cast, which, aside from Keitel, also includes other cinematic greats such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.

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Without a doubt, Keitel has more than earned his place among the greatest names in acting in the world, and the variety and range of his talents have seen the 80-year-old star work with a huge range of some of the most talented filmmakers alive. It wasn’t always this way, however, as even some of the world’s biggest stars had to start their careers at the bottom. In fact, in this particular case, to say that Keitel started off his acting journey like a dog is entirely accurate. In an interview with CBS News, Keitel detailed his early path to acting stardom in which he played a small role as a dog in a New York City stage production. Said Keitel: “I played a dog. No lines!”

Today it’s quite difficult to imagine someone of Keitel’s stature crawling around on a stage on all fours (possibly barking), but that is exactly what the Pulp Fiction star once did. It wasn’t until he responded to an ad for a student film, shot by Scorsese, that his life as an actor changed and he formed a lasting friendship with one of cinema’s most iconic talents. Ironically enough, Keitel’s career came full circle in 2018, when he once again played a dog – this time for multi Oscar-nominated filmmaker Wes Anderson, in his stop-motion animation hit, Isle of Dogs. Keitel was the voice of Gondo, leader of a pack of fearsome cannibal dogs. While there was no way that a young, inexperienced Keitel could have known that his initial stage role as a dog was training for a future as an acclaimed actor, today that first role seems a little less absurd knowing that Isle of Dogs loomed on his distant horizon.

Unfortunately, Keitel’s role in The Irishman as Sicilian-American mobster Angelo Bruno was not an especially large one. But, as is typically the case with Keitel, his portrayal of the character was marked by equal measures of steely intensity and careful consideration. With several projects on the go for 2020 (including a role as notorious mobster Meyer Lansky), Keitel’s days of no line roles as man’s best friend are far behind him, and even at the advanced age of 80, he shows no signs of stopping any time soon.

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Source: CBS News

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Mike Jones
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Mike Jones is an author, screenwriter, world traveller and cinephile. His work has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, and he’s also a Berlinale Talents alumnus. Cinema has always moved him in a big way and aside from having seen The Talented Mr Ripley more times than any other living person, he maintains a pretty darn healthy physical media collection. His favourite filmmakers include: Jordan Peele, David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Leigh, Steven Spielberg, the Dardenne Brothers, Noah Baumbach, Michael Haneke, Barry Jenkins and Andrea Arnold. Often jet-lagged, Mike once turned down a certain A-list celebrity’s offer to join them for a night of partying after a strange encounter in an airport.

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