Harvey Keitel credits Robert De Niro with his marriage
Harvey Keitel owes his marriage to Robert De Niro after reconnecting with his wife years later at parties hosted his Taxi Driver and Mean Streets co-star.
The Reservoir Dogs actor first met Canadian actress and writer Daphna Kastner back in the 1980s, when they both attended a bash in Italy, held in De Niro's honour.
"I met my wife in Rome at a party for Robert," Keitel recalled on America's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "She allowed me to take her to dinner at the (high end restaurant Dal Bolognese Roma).
"Then I called her back again a second night. She came and we had dinner together a second night. And then I asked her if she would like a drink in my hotel room - and she said, 'No, thank you.' And I spent a lot of money on her. It was a good restaurant!"
They didn't stay in touch after the nightcap rejection, but crossed paths again 17 years later at another event for De Niro - and this time, Keitel managed to work his charm to eventually land her as his wife.
Remembering how they reconnected, the actor said, "There was this girl who I bought two dinners for at the Dal Bolognese 17 years ago and it was my wife, Daphna. And we stayed together.
"And seven weeks later, I was going to a film festival in Italy and I asked her to come with me. She said, 'Yes,' and on the flight, I said, 'What do you think about getting married?' She gave a great answer: she said, 'OK.'"
And it wasn't just their meetings which are tied to De Niro: "The topper was, we get pregnant about a year later, and our son is born on Robert De Niro's birthday!" Keitel smiled.
Keitel and his second wife Kastner wed in 2001.
He was previously married to The Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco from 1982 to 1993, during which they had a daughter named Stella, and he also shares a son with former girlfriend Lisa Karmazin.
