Taxi Driver Writer Paul Schrader Says Martin Scorsese's Dog 'Took Out Part of My Thumb' — and 'Ate It'

Paul Schrader left part of his thumb at Martin Scorsese's house.

As part of a new Variety profile on Taxi Driver writer Schrader, the 77-year-old claimed that one of Scorsese's dogs bit off and ate part of his finger back in December 2023.

"So on Tuesday night, I had dinner with Marty at his place. He has these dogs. They were very cute. Two of them were bichon frisé. They’re really beautiful," Schrader said, after the outlet noted he arrived to an interview sporting "a massive, bloody bandage wrapped around his hand."

"But then, he has a Scottie, which is a problematic dog," he continued. "It was his daughter’s dog. He doesn’t like the dog, but they have to keep him and blah, blah, blah."

When Schrader tried to pet the Scottish terrier, he said the dog did not react kindly. "I tried to pet the Scottie," he said. "The Scottie not only took out part of my thumb, he ate it."

When the outlet asked Schrader how bad the injury was and if he went to an emergency room to receive care for the wound, the filmmaker simply said, "Marty has an in-house nurse."

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Schrader and Scorsese's professional collaboration dates back to 1976, when Schrader wrote the screenplay for Scorsese's Taxi Driver, which starred Robert De Niro. The two later collaborated as writer and director on movies like 1980's Raging Bull, which also starred De Niro, as well as 1988's The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ and and 1999's Bringing Out the Dead.

Schrader branched out into his own directing career in the 1970s. In recent years, he is known for making movies like 2017's First Reformed, 2021's The Card Counter and 2022's Master Gardener. He received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 91st Oscars in 2019 for First Reformed.

The filmmaker's new movie, Oh Canada, is an adaptation of author Russell Banks' 2021 novel Foregone. The movie, which world premieres at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in May, stars Richard Gere, Uma Thurman and Jacob Elordi.