Robert De Niro reveals surprising true story behind famous ‘You talkin’ to me?’ scene in ‘Taxi Driver’

nypost.com:

Martin Scorsese’s 1976 masterpiece “Taxi Driver,” revealing that the iconic scene was partially improvised.During an appearance on “Live with Kelly and Mark” on Thursday, the 81-year-old actor recalled how some of the best moments in film come from spontaneous improvisation. “Some of the best stuff, not always, is when it’s improvised,” De Niro told hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.In “Taxi Driver,” De Niro’s portrayal of disturbed cabbie Travis Bickle birthed one of the most memorable scenes in cinema history: standing in front of a mirror, Bickle talks to himself and points a gun at his reflection as he imagines facing off with a foe.“You talkin’ to me?

You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin’ to?” De Niro, as Bickle, famously demands of his invisible adversary. “You talkin’ to me?

Well, I’m the only one here. Who the f–k do you think you’re talking to?”During his chat with Ripa and Consuelos, De Niro said that the scene wasn’t entirely scripted. “The producer [of the film] … said on some show that Marty had said it was all improvised.

We had something [on the page], I forget exactly but Marty remembers a lot better than I do,” the actor shared.“It seemed right,” De Niro added, reflecting on the moment. “It was done spontaneously.