As the American acting icon turns 80 this summer, we’re shining a light on some of Robert De Niro’s finest film appearances. Whether playing a volatile criminal prone to violent outbursts or a mellower figure of restraint and sympathy, De Niro is an electric screen presence from whom viewers can rarely look away.

Alongside his star-making turn in Martin Scorsese’s risk-taking debut feature, our spotlight focuses on the 1980s and ‘90s, a period which proved to be particularly fertile ground for De Niro. With his second Oscar® for Raging Bull (1980) already secured, the actor used his now considerable industry muscle to help get various projects off the ground. And while the ’90s saw him settle into an elder statesman position, those galvanic and risk-taking qualities were still in abundance, with the decade seeing the release of some of the very finest films he’s ever starred in. Among the most recognized practitioners of method acting in Hollywood, De Niro’s roles in this period are rooted in physical and psychological transformations, as well as considerable immersion in the careers and lifestyles of the characters he’s portraying. Even without dialogue spelling it out, you fully believe he’s someone who could plausibly abandon his life in 30 seconds flat if he felt the heat around the corner, from the most subtle fluctuations in his eyes, face and body language. And when he’s in more maximalist mode, few stars are as wholly convincing in selling the bravado needed to convince viewers why other characters might follow the man he’s playing down a likely doomed path.