Isabella Rossellini Exposes Martin Scorsese’s ‘Terrifying’ Explosive Behavior While Married

Isabella Rossellini is opening up about her tumultuous marriage to legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, revealing the director’s shocking temper and personal struggles in the new Apple TV documentary “Mr. Scorsese.” The 73-year-old actress, daughter of Hollywood icons Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, was married to the Oscar-winning director from 1979 to 1982, during the production of two of his most defining films, “Raging Bull” and “The King of Comedy.” While the marriage was short-lived, Rossellini says it left an indelible mark on her life and on Scorsese’s.

Isabella Rossellini Reveals Martin Scorsese’s Anger Behind Closed Doors

According to Daily Mail, in the third episode of “Mr. Scorsese,” Rossellini reflects on the volatility that often surrounded her then-husband’s creative process. “He could get really angry,” she admitted. “Not toward me. He never hit me or anything like that, but he could demolish a room.”

The “Blue Velvet” star revealed that one of Scorsese’s friends once recorded one of his outbursts and played it back to him, an experience that shocked the filmmaker. “Marty was shocked because he didn’t realize the level of violence that this minuscule body, asthmatic, could create. It was like a volcano. It was terrifying,” she recalled.

Rossellini described the unpredictable nature of his anger, noting that it would sometimes erupt over something small. Despite the chaos, he came to view his rage as part of what fueled his artistry. “I understood that partially also this rage was part of the fuel to give him courage,” she said. “He was this little boy from ‘Little Italy’ and was now this big director with big budgets. Rage gave him stamina to get through the day. It was complex to be with him.”

Hollywood Power Couple Torn Apart

Rossellini and Scorsese’s marriage marked the intersection of two cinematic legacies, hers through European art-house glamour and his through gritty American storytelling. Despite their artistic chemistry, the emotional intensity proved too much. Their three-year marriage ended in 1982, around the time “The King of Comedy” premiered. It was Scorsese’s third marriage. He’s since married five times and has been with Helen Morris since 1999.

Rossellini, meanwhile, went on to marry model-turned-Microsoft executive Jon Wiedemann, with whom she shares daughter Elettra Wiedemann. She’s also the mother of Roberto Rossellini.

Martin Scorsese’s Early Calling Took A Sharp Turn

“Mr. Scorsese” also reveals that before Scorsese became one of Hollywood’s greatest directors, he nearly devoted his life to the church. In “Mr. Scorsese,” the 82-year-old filmmaker, reveals that as a teenager growing up in Little Italy, he viewed the priesthood as an escape from the violence surrounding him, from street gangs and mobsters to even witnessing his father get into fights.

After graduating from a Catholic high school in 1960, Scorsese entered a seminary on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, determined to dedicate his life to faith. But after a few months, he began to question whether he could truly shut himself off from the world. As he became more aware of love, attraction, and the cultural revolution of the 1960s, from rock ’n’ roll to social change, he realized a life of celibacy and service wasn’t for him.

‘Severe Depression’ Nearly Destroyed His Career

Also in the documentary, Scorsese himself acknowledges the mental and emotional challenges he faced during that period, struggles that nearly derailed “The King of Comedy.” “I was having personal problems so severely that I couldn’t edit,” he said. “I never experienced such depression, trying to work, not being able to work, having problems, complaining, getting crazy.”

He revealed that therapy and medication helped him survive that dark time. “If it wasn’t for the doctor, five days a week, phone calls on the weekend, strong, steady work on straightening my head out, I’d be dead,” he confessed. “It was very lonely, but it was my doing.”

A Legacy Laid Bare In ‘Mr. Scorsese’

Far from a glossy career retrospective, “Mr. Scorsese” peels back the curtain on the man behind some of cinema’s most iconic films, from “Taxi Driver” and “Goodfellas” to “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The new five-part Apple TV documentary doesn’t just celebrate Martin Scorsese’s achievements, but it also exposes the chaos, creativity, and contradictions that shaped him.

Directed by Rebecca Miller, the nearly five-hour series offers an intimate look at the Oscar winner’s life through candid interviews with Scorsese himself, along with longtime collaborators Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jodie Foster, plus his family and childhood friends.

“Mr. Scorsese” is now streaming on Apple TV.