‘You Talkin’ to Me?’ How Robert De Niro Came Up With His Famous ‘Taxi Driver’ Line

Even if you haven’t seen Taxi Driver — the 1976 Martin Scorsese neo-noir film celebrating its 50th anniversary on February 8 — you surely know its most famous scene. Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle, the titular cabbie driven to madness by the mean streets of New York, practices intimidating his foes in a mirror.

“You talkin’ to me?” he says. “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin’ to? You talkin’ to me? Well, I’m the only one here. Who the f*** do you think you’re talking to?”