Harvey Keitel was born a Polish Jew on May 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York. He spent most of his time on the streets as a kid and had a rough upbringing. As a child he was shy up to the point that he was expelled from vocational school, after that he had little or no interest in school. At the age of 16 he enrolled into the marine corps not knowing what else to do with his life, in which he went to Lebanon. After he came home he took a fancy to acting and must've showed some talent because he studied under Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, also known to have taken in Al Pacino.
After working in the theater for about 10 years, he finally came into the public's eye when he appeared in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets in 1973. In 1988 he played a very convincing role of a wronged Judas Iscariot in The Last Temptation of Christ. His intensity shown in roles such as those in Reservoir Dogs, and Taxi Driver may be attributed to his experiences in life. Keitel married Lorraine Bracco in 1982 and the couple got divorced in 1993, he had one daughter with her. It was a bitter divorce in which Harvey Keitel sued Bracco for custody of their daughter because Bracco had become involved with a man known to have abused a daughter of a friend. Keitel lost the case and Bracco got custody instead, but there is a court order where the man cannot visit his daughter without another adult present.
Here is a list of movies that Harvey Keitel has appeared in, taken from the Internet Movie Database:
Dreaming of Julia (2001) .... Che
The Grey Zone (2001) .... Doctor Miklos Nyiszli
Jack Sheppard and Jonathan Wild (2001)
Je viens après la pluie (2001)
La Soutane turquoise (2001) .... unconfirmed
Taking Sides (2001) .... Major Steve Arnold
Vipera (2001)
Nailed (2001) .... Tony Romano
Ginostra (2000)
Little Nicky (2000) .... Satan
Prince of Central Park (2000) .... The Guardian
U-571 (2000) .... Chief Klough
... aka U-571 (2000) (France)
Fail Safe (2000) (TV) .... General Warren Black
An Interesting State (1999)
Presence of Mind (1999) .... The Master
... aka El Celo (2000) (Spain)
Holy Smoke (1999) .... PJ Waters
Three Seasons (1999) .... James Hager
Il Mio West (1998) .... Johnny Lowen
... aka My West (1998)
Finding Graceland (1998) .... Elvis
Lulu on the Bridge (1998) .... Izzy Maurer
Shadrach (1998) .... Vernon Dabney
FairyTale: A True Story (1997) .... Harry Houdini
... aka Fairy Tale (1997)
... aka Illumination (1997)
Full Tilt Boogie (1997) .... Himself
Cop Land (1997) .... Ray Donlan
City of Industry (1997) .... Roy Egan
Head Above Water (1996) .... George
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) .... Jacob Fuller
Get Shorty (1995) (uncredited) .... Himself
Blue in the Face (1995) .... Auggie Wren
Clockers (1995) .... Rocco Klein
To Vlemma tou Odyssea (1995) .... A
... aka The Gaze of Odysseus (1995)
... aka The Look of Ulysses (1995)
... aka Le Regard d'Ulysse (1995)
... aka Lo Sguardo di Ulisse (1995) (Italy)
... aka Ulysses' Gaze (1997) (USA: literal English title)
Smoke (1995) .... Auggie Wren
... aka Smoke - Raucher unter sich (1995) (Germany)
Monkey Trouble (1994) .... Shorty Kohn
... aka Pet (1994)
Who Do You Think You're Fooling? (1994) .... Mr. White/Fu
Imaginary Crimes (1994) .... Ray Weiler
Pulp Fiction (1994) .... The Wolf
Somebody to Love (1994) .... Harry Harrelson
Point of No Return (1993) .... Victor the Cleaner
... aka The Assassin (1993/I) (Australia) (UK) (USA: video title)
The Young Americans (1993) .... John Harris
Dangerous Game (1993) .... Eddie Israel
Rising Sun (1993) .... Tom Graham
The Piano (1993) .... George Baines
... aka La Leçon de piano (1993) (France)
Sister Act (1992) .... Vince LaRocca
Bad Lieutenant (1992) .... The Lieutenant
Reservoir Dogs (1992) .... Mr. White/Larry
Bugsy (1991) .... Mickey Cohen
Thelma & Louise (1991) .... Hal Slocumb
Mortal Thoughts (1991) .... Detective John Woods
La Batalla de los Tres Reyes (1990)
... aka The Battle of the Three Kings (1990) (International: English title: literal title)
... aka Bytva tryokh korolej (1990) (Soviet Union: Russian title)
... aka Drums of Fire (1990) (International: English title: informal title)
The Two Jakes (1990) .... Julius 'Jake' Berman
Due occhi diabolici (1990) .... Roderick Usher ("The Black Cat")
... aka Two Evil Eyes (1990) (USA)
January Man (1989) .... Frank Starkey
Caro Gorbaciov (1988)
... aka Cordial Gorbatschev (1988)
Grandi cacciatori (1988)
... aka White Hunter (1988)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) .... Judas
Down Where the Buffalo Go (1988)
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987) (TV) (voice) .... 2 Lt. Donald Jacques
... aka Dear America (1987) (TV)
L'Inchiesta (1987) .... Ponzio Pilato
... aka The Inquiry (1987) (USA)
... aka The Investigation (1987)
The Pick-up Artist (1987) .... Alonzo
Blindside (1986) .... Penfield Gruber
The Men's Club (1986) .... Solly Berliner
Off Beat (1986) .... Mickey
La Sposa americana (1986)
Wise Guys (1986) .... Bobby Dilea
Un Complicato intrigo di donne, vicoli e delitti (1986) .... Frankie
... aka Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women, and Crime) (1986) (International: English title: complete title)
... aka Camorra: The Naples Connection (1986)
... aka A Complex Plot About Women, Alleys and Crimes (1986) (International: English title: literal title)
Baciami strega (1985) (TV)
El Caballero del dragón (1985) .... Klever
... aka The Knight of the Dragon (1985)
... aka Star Knight (1993) (USA: video title)
Nemo (1984) .... Mr. Legend
... aka Dream One (1984)
Falling in Love (1984) .... Ed Lasky
Une pierre dans la bouche (1983) .... The fugitive
Exposed (1983) .... Rivas
Copkiller (1983) .... Lieutenant Fred O'Connor
... aka Cop Killers (1983)
... aka Copkiller - l'assassino dei poliziotti (1983) (Italy)
... aka Corrupt (1983) (USA: reissue title)
... aka Corrupt Lieutenant (1983)
... aka Order of Death (1983) (USA)
La Nuit de Varennes (1982) .... Thomas Paine
... aka Il Mondo nuovo (1982) (Italy)
... aka That Night in Varennes (1982)
The Border (1982) .... Cat
Bad Timing (1980) .... Inspector Netusil
... aka Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (1980) (USA)
La Mort en direct (1980) .... Roddy
... aka Death Watch - Der gekaufte Tod (1980) (West Germany)
... aka Death in Full View (1980)
... aka Deathwatch (1980) (USA)
... aka Der Gekaufte Tod (1980) (West Germany)
Saturn 3 (1980) .... Benson
Eagle's Wing (1979) .... Henry
Blue Collar (1978) .... Jerry Bartowski
Fingers (1978) .... Jimmy Fingers
Welcome to L.A. (1977) .... Ken Hood
The Duellists (1977) .... Gabriel Feraud
Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976) .... Speed (Tony Johnson)
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) .... Ed Goodman
... aka Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976)
Taxi Driver (1976) .... Sport
Shining Star (1975)
... aka That's the Way of the World (1975)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) .... Ben
The Virginia Hill Story (1974) (TV) .... Bugsy Siegel
A Memory of Two Mondays (1974) (TV) .... Jerry
Mean Streets (1973) .... Charlie
Pueblo (1973) (TV) (uncredited) .... Seaman
Street Scenes (1970) .... Himself
Who's That Knocking at My Door? (1968) .... J.R.
... aka Bring on the Dancing Girls (1965) (USA: first version title)
... aka I Call First (1967) (USA: second version title)
... aka J.R. (1970) (reissue title)
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) (uncredited) .... Soldier
"Dark Shadows" (1966) TV Series .... Blue Whale Patron