Director Martin Scorsese makes not one but two cameos in his 1976 classic Taxi Driver; here’s where to spot them both. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese are one of cinema’s most iconic actor/director pairings, with their work together being an embarrassment of riches. Their first collaboration was 1973’s Mean Streets, and it’s a creative partnership that also produced Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The Irishman. Their 1982 effort The King Of Comedy was a major inspiration on 2019’s Joker, which Scorsese briefly considered helming while De Niro has a co-starring role.
One of their most lauded movies is 1976’s Taxi Driver, where De Niro plays Travis Bickle. Travis is an isolated, mentally unstable young man who cruises the streets of New York in his cab while looking for meaning in his lonely life. The film is a dark psychological thriller that features one of De Niro’s best performances, in addition to Bernard Herrmann’s haunting score. Even 40 years after its original release, the film has lost none of its power to shock or unsettle and includes many iconic moments such as Travis’ “You talkin’ to me?” scene.
Taxi Driver also features a great supporting cast, including Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel and Cybil Shepherd. Martin Scorsese fans are probably aware of the director’s big cameo scene, but he actually appears twice in the movie. The first time is around ten minutes into Taxi Driver, which features a slow-motion shot of Shephard’s Besty walking down the street and into the campaign headquarters for Senator Palantine. Scorsese can be seen sitting outside and wearing a big t-shirt as he watches Betsy walk by.
Martin Scorsese’ second appearance in Taxi Driver is way more impactful and comes at the 40-minute mark. After Travis’ relationship with Betsy has imploded, Scorsese plays a passenger he picks up one night. Credited as “Passenger Watching Silhouette,” Scorsese orders Travis to stop the cab outside an apartment building while he explains the silhouette they’re watching belongs to his wife, who is cheating on him. The passenger then goes off on a racist, misogynic rant about how he’s going to kill his wife with a .44 Magnum, all while Travis stays silent. This unhinged passenger gives voice to the violent rage bubbling inside Travis and implants the idea of him buying a .44 Magnum later in the story.
Martin Scorsese is surprisingly great in this brief, creepy role, with the passenger seemingly aware of how crazy he sounds but not caring. Scorsese stepped into the role at the last minute after another actor dropped out, and he’s (presumably) not the same character seen outside Betsy’s office from earlier in Taxi Driver.
