In the 1980 film Raging Bull, Robert DeNiro played the role of which boxer?

Robert De Niro delivered one of cinema's most iconic and physically demanding performances in this 1980 Martin Scorsese film. He portrayed the real-life middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta, a role that earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film is a biographical drama based on LaMotta's own 1970 memoir, "Raging Bull: My Story," which chronicled his turbulent life both inside and outside the ring.

Known by the nicknames "The Bronx Bull" and "The Raging Bull," LaMotta was famous for his relentless, brawling style and an almost superhuman ability to absorb punishment from his opponents. His career was defined by a legendary six-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson. The film, shot in stark black and white, explores the self-destructive rage and paranoia that fueled LaMotta's success in boxing but ultimately destroyed his personal relationships and family life.

De Niro's commitment to the role has become legendary in its own right. To prepare, he trained extensively with LaMotta himself to achieve the physique of a professional boxer. For the film's later scenes depicting an older, overweight LaMotta, De Niro famously gained approximately 60 pounds. This dramatic physical transformation is often cited as a prime example of method acting and helped cement the performance as one of the greatest in film history.