Harvey Keitel (born May 13, 1939) is an American actor whose latest work is that of Detective Lieutenant Gene Hunt on ABC's crime drama Life on Mars. He is widely known for the "tough-guy" characters he portrays and for his memorable roles from Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Jane Campion's The Piano, Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant, and James Mangold's Cop Land. Keitel also starred in Red Dragon as FBI agent Jack Crawford.

Keitel was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the son of Miriam and Harry Keitel, Jewish immigrants from Romania and Poland. His parents owned and ran a luncheonette and his father also worked as a hat maker.

Keitel grew up in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn with his sister, Renee, and brother, Jerry. He attended Abraham Lincoln High School (New York). At the age of 16, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps, a decision that took him to Lebanon. After his return to the United States, he was a court reporter and was able to support himself before beginning his acting career.