Which actor plays Rupert Pupkin in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy?

Robert De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy. Pupkin is an aspiring comedian who becomes obsessed with securing a guest appearance on a successful television talk show.

The 1982 film also stars Jerry Lewis as talk-show host Jerry Langford, alongside Sandra Bernhard and Diahnne Abbott. Paul D. Zimmerman wrote the screenplay, and the film examines celebrity culture, entitlement, fantasy, and the desire for public recognition.

Unlike many conventional backstage comedies, The King of Comedy presents Pupkin’s ambitions through an intentionally uneasy mixture of reality and imagined success. De Niro’s performance is markedly different from his roles in Scorsese’s gangster and crime films. The movie was initially a commercial disappointment but later became highly regarded and influential.