Remember when Robert De Niro got crazy fit? Plus more dreamy photos of the screen legend early in his career

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In honor of his 80th birthday on Aug. 17, 2023 — we're taking a look back at the most handsome photos of a young Robert De Niro early in his career. Let's start with this shot that's sure to raise your temperature…

Robert De Niro never looked better than he did while portraying real-life boxer Jake LaMotta in the 1980 biographical sports drama "Raging Bull." According to Vanity Fair, he gained 20 pounds of muscle while training for the part. The hard work paid off: He won an Oscar for his work in the film.

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That hair! Robert De Niro looked too cute in the 1971 crime comedy "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight." He was 28 when the film debuted.

MORE: Take a look back at more than 60 older leading men when they were young

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Robert De Niro flashed a sexy smirk while promoting "Taxi Driver" at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.

MORE: Robert De Niro and more stars who became fathers later in life

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Many fans first fell for Robert De Niro when he portrayed a young Vito Corleone in the 1974 drama "The Godfather Part II." He didn't just win hearts for his work in the epic crime drama: He also won his first Oscar for his performance as the mob boss.

MORE: The best movies about the mob

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A baby-faced Robert De Niro looked adorable during a night out in New York City sometime in the early '70s.

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Robert De Niro looked ruggedly handsome with long hair and a full beard in "The Mission." He starred as a reformed mercenary in the 1986 drama.

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Robert De Niro smoldered as his on-screen alter ego, Travis Bickle, in the 1976 thriller "Taxi Driver."

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We hardly recognize Robert De Niro in this shot from the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. He was 32 at the time.

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Robert De Niro has been around for so long, we sometimes forget what a hunk he was early in his career. Here's a refresher: a portrait of the Oscar winner in the early '70s when he was in his late 20s or early 30s.

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Robert De Niro charmed as a Hollywood film producer in the 1976 drama "The Last Tycoon," which is based on Harold Pinter's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished novel of the same name.

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Robert De Niro showed off his classically handsome profile in a still from the 1973 sports drama "Bang the Drum Slowly."

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Robert De Niro was so bad but so good as Vito Corleone in 1974's "The Godfather Part II."

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A young Robert De Niro was all hair in Martin Scorsese's 1973 crime drama "Mean Streets." He was 30 when the film debuted.

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Robert De Niro looked dapper in a black tuxedo and a bow tie during the Cannes Film Festival in 1984.

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So nice, we had to see it twice! Robert De Niro got into amazing shape to play real-life boxer Jake LaMotta in the 1980 biographical sports drama "Raging Bull."