Robert De Niro

About Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro (b. 1943) is an iconic figure in modern cinema, renowned for his method acting approach and indelible collaborations with director Martin Scorsese. As one of the defining actors of the New Hollywood era, his historical importance stems from transforming American filmmaking through roles in classics like The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, and Raging Bull. This sustained, high-quality contribution earns him a Historical Popularity Index (HPI) rank of #562 among the most influential people in history.

Despite this significant cultural footprint, De Niro enjoys substantial modern online attention, indicating an 'overattention' relative to his historical placement. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accrued 5.6 million annualized views, resulting in an Attention Gap of +15x, meaning his internet attention is fifteen times greater than what his HPI rank might suggest. For perspective, this level of modern search traffic dwarfs that of figures ranked far higher in historical importance, such as Blaise Pascal (#78 importance, 531K views) or Antoni Gaudí (#260 importance, 784K views).

Examining short-term trends, De Niro's 2025 interest showed a recent cooling: his Q1 to Q3 Momentum dropped by -31%, even as his Year-over-Year views increased by a healthy +10.8%. This suggests that while he remains culturally dominant, peak online engagement may have passed recently.