Actor: Harvey Keitel

Harvey Keitel was Scorsese’s first lead, in Who’s That Knocking at My Door and Mean Streets, before the De Niro partnership took over, and he brought a raw quality that the American cinema of the 1970s was built on.

Bad Lieutenant is the performance that defines his willingness to expose himself completely, and The Piano won him a nomination in a very different register.

He was cast in Apocalypse Now and replaced by Martin Sheen after a few weeks, which he has discussed with some frankness.

Reservoir Dogs happened partly because he read the script, liked it and helped fund it, which is why Tarantino’s career exists in its current form.