Question 1

True or false: He is a direct descendant of German royalty.

Accepted Answer

False. Keitel's family were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania; no royal lineage is documented.

Question 2

True or false: Keitel has never appeared in a Quentin Tarantino film.

Accepted Answer

False. He starred in 'Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction', and 'The Hateful Eight', making him a Tarantino regular.

Question 3

True or false: Harvey Keitel was a Marine before becoming an actor.

Accepted Answer

True. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the late 1950s, which influenced his tough-guy persona in films.

Question 4

True or false: Harvey Keitel co-founded the Actors Studio in New York City.

Accepted Answer

False. The Actors Studio was founded in 1947 by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, and Robert Lewis, not Keitel.

Question 5

True or false: Harvey Keitel won an Oscar for his role in 'Taxi Driver'.

Accepted Answer

False. He was not even nominated for 'Taxi Driver'; his only Oscar nomination came for 'Bugsy' in 1991.

Question 6

True or false: Keitel turned down the role of Captain Willard in 'Apocalypse Now'.

Accepted Answer

True. He was originally cast but replaced by Martin Sheen after creative clashes and filming delays in the jungle.

Question 7

True or false: Keitel once worked as a shoe salesman before acting.

Accepted Answer

True. Before finding acting, he sold women's shoes and even worked as a court stenographer to make ends meet.

Question 8

True or false: He was a co-producer on the film 'The Piano'.

Accepted Answer

True. Keitel not only starred in 'The Piano' (1993) but also served as an uncredited co-producer.

Harvey Keitel Trivia Questions