Robert De Niro actually learnt to drive a cab for his role in Taxi Driver

He prepared for the role with 12 hour shifts as a cabbie

Robert De Niro got a real cab driver’s license in preparation for his role in Martin Scorsese’s classic, Taxi Driver.

Over a month, in the lead up to filming, the actor worked 12 hour shifts at a New York cab firm and would pick up and drop off passengers when he had the time.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission also released a copy of De Niro’s license which expired 31 May 1976, four months after the film’s release.

De Niro is known for his meticulous preparation for roles, gaining weight and learning how to box to play professional fighter Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull and having his teeth chipped for his performance as a rapist in Cape Fear.

In Taxi Driver, De Niro plays an angry and resentful Vietnam War veteran who works as a cabbie in New York City.

For the role, De Niro was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.

The film is considered one of the greatest of all time. In the highly regarded Sight & Sound poll, Taxi Driver was ranked by critics as the 31st best film ever made and by directors as the fifth.

Taxi Driver also starred Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks and a young Jodie Foster.