"Kept thinking in terms of the character": When Martin Scorsese shared key details about some of his most iconic films

The filmmaking legend of the New Hollywood era, Martin Scorsese, has created a range of characters throughout his lifetime. Although he is mostly zeroed in on the gangster genre, he explores a great deal of themes, from loneliness to guilt. Currently, he is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and has accolades such as Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Emmy Awards, and more to his name, to name a few.

A couple of years ago, he gave an interview to GQ magazine in their iconic series where actors and directors break down the best characters they have played. And while he was talking about his 1976 hit, Taxi Driver, he said,

"We kept thinking in terms of the character, and his loneliness, and his his acting out. Not condoning the acting out, but he does act out. And yet, an empathy with him, which is really tricky. We wanted to make it so badly, nobody would make it, that we were going to different cities to make it San Francisco but taxi driving wasn't the same. And we said, "no, it has to be Manhattan. Ultimately what stayed with us was the psychological and emotional state of that character. As we know know, tragically, it's a norm. Every other person is like Travis Bickle now."

Throughout his career, Martin Scorsese has directed 26 feature films, including The King of Comedy (1982), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), and more.

What are some of Martin Scorsese's best movies of all time

Martin Scorsese is one of those filmmakers who has given us a lot of gems in cinema that we can watch over and over again, which also gives us something new to debate about.

Taxi Driver is one of the classics already mentioned in this article. Robert De Niro was in the lead as Travis Bickle. In the movie, we see his character's mental state deteriorating with every night that passes in the city.

In 1990, he directed Goodfellas with Ray Liotta in the lead alongside Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro. Initially, the film was called 'Wise Guy,' which was the title of the book by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the film.

When it comes down to mystery and psychology, Martin Scorsese knows how to twist the minds of the viewers. He directed Shutter Island in 2010, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, where he played Andrew Laeddis alongside Mark Ruffalo, who played Dr. Lester Sheehan. Or did they?

DiCaprio was also the lead character in his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), and was the sixth collaboration between the actor and the director. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards but didn't win any.

Additionally, the director has also explored religious themes in films such as The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Kundun (1997), and Silence (1997), where his characters struggle with challenges of faith.

His works include The Color of Money (1986), The Departed (2006), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), The Irishman (2019), and more.