NY Bloger

He was praised for going to extreme lengths to play a boxer in Raging Bull, but Robert De Niro has revealed that one part of the film was not quite what it seemed. The actor gained roughly 4st (56lbs) to portray Jake La Motta after he retired from boxing in the 1980 classic movie. In one scene, De Niro’s character bangs his head against a brick wall while in prison. But the method actor who put his body through extraordinary lengths to play troubled boxer La Motta in the Martin Scorsese film confesses the cell wall was actually made of rubber. In an interview with US Esquire, De Niro who appears on the cover of the January issue of the men’s magazine, says: “We made a rubber wall for the jail scene in Raging Bull. “It was hard rubber foam. Smashing your head into a real wall wouldn’t have been possible. “You’ve got to do it till you’re happy.” The 67-year-old Oscar-winning actor has collaborated with film-maker and fellow New Yorker Scorsese on nine films to date, including Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Cape Fear, and is now reportedly set to work with him again on their 10th movie together, The Irishman. Talking about the legendary director, De Niro tells the magazine: “If Marty wanted me to do something, I would consider it very seriously even if I wasn’t interested.”