Robert De Niro Reflects On 13 Moments From His Life | PEOPLE

if it's a therapy session that's one thing but this is you [Music] know Bob daero hi this is my life in pictures me at that age I don't know how old I probably about three or four maybe or two I don't reminds me of my two youngest little girls uh that I they look when at that age my youngest I see a lot of similarity and I see it also in my one of my grandkids Gia the baby always looks at my father's artwork we hold like she look at I just think it was an okay childhood I had good memories and others that I suppose like um anybody would uh I'm glad that I grew up in New York was raised in New York uh I'm glad that all my kids basically live here Francis he asked me to come to San Francisco uh to to read or something like that and then then he called back a few days later whatever just just the parts yours just come out and we'll get to know each other and talk and blah blah blah you know then that was as I remember I don't think we went over the script or anything you you obviously won an Oscar for that role um you were not at the ceremony I was shooting um 19 00 Roberto Luchi in Italy and so I was there for a long time during that period they called me on a landline in those days Marty had a friend who sadly passed away was became a stunt man but was a he he he did he was part of a a ranger or um I don't know something special force type thing where he went into uh certain other countries when these what call Halo drops or whatever from high altitudes and they had the Mohawk haircuts and we we uh we were just talking about what he did and so on and the the idea of the Mohawk was was of course an interesting one that we hadn't thought of and so decided Well that's what Travis will do and it is time to let the people rule I was going to shoot um The Last Tycoon after where I needed hair and kind of wavy hair like Irving thorberg so Marty and I we we realized that we had a you know he liked the idea he wanted me to do it and we had this problem I we having dinner one night after I said well Dick Smith let's let's see if we can and we agreed yeah let's let's try dick uh at the time and uh he was a great makeup artist and he done Godfather 2 and one and uh so he took it upon himself to to do it we did a test and looked good is it true you your previous two Oscars are in storage somewhere yeah I have them someplace I have a lot of stuff at the University of Texas they keep everything preserved they're in their care if you will judge Murphy 7 to3 Lata well the weight of course was difficult after the first 15 lbs it gets it's just work and and I was a doctor was monitoring it so you know cholesterol and things like that but uh it it was uh hard especially the more weight it's just hard but that was the idea to see how how hard and how different physically so we took a break of three or four months I forget and only shot one scene after we did the the young stuff or the in shape part of the movie and then we did one interim scene where I gained about 12 or 15 pounds when he's out of shape and he's in Florida um we shot that scene and then I just kept doing the Hiatus um just gaining weight we had a reading of the script art linon the producer who brought the script to me and I met Michael Kon Jones and then we I like to have a reading a lot of times so we had a reading and um Leo was one of the other actors uh but not playing the part that he eventually did play and I did said to Art linen the producer I said art that that kid was really it was interesting I didn't push it I just said but that kid had something special and then they turned around and wound up uh using Leo what's going on here I got this scholarship and you went nuted he's crazy and I'm leaving great go finally about time about time go then he told me Leo I remember C he said well I just knew I wasn't going to get in there I wasn't going to be it so I just was more uh just didn't give a a about what or or or was less care because he did not know and I always tell young actors when you're reading assume you're not going to get the part so you can feel more free to take a chance because that'll be the interesting thing your choices even if they're not right for the part you're reading for they're they're they will draw people's uh attention well I always say I'm very lucky to have um started working with Marty in my sort of late 20s and done all these projects together um we kind of knew each other like this the way you know with um when we were teenages but um 10 12 years earlier or more um and so I knew he was aware that he was doing something at NYU and we had a mutual friend go back and forth to his group and mine and then um and then we finally met for a a Christmas dinner one you know uh years later and um I saw Who's That Knocking and I said that was really terrific movie and you know and and that's how it started then he said I have the script and Mean Streets was at that time called Season of the Witch and so that's how it started how often do people quote Meet the Parents to you well you know uh this thing they do but I will be watching you studying your every move when you're putting on the TV and you're scrolling do you ever come across your old movies and stop and maybe watch rarely but um if I do sometimes I'll stop and see because it's a a as pure a moment as I can get of being objective not expecting and seeing it see this thing see how you know oh not too bad or whatever you know I have nipples Greg could you milk me we had talked about doing a film festival Jane rosenal and I just what about you know but then when 9/11 happened we started talking seriously about doing it because of the neighborhood and helping to bring it back and so on so that was that's how it got started we we just had the um the first one and then the second one and it just grew and grew [Music] you do a table read about a week before I think on the Monday before the Saturday and then they start eliminating the skits and throwing on the floor literally as I remember when I did and then you get closer to what the ones that you actually start doing and then those would get whittled away too and then just be you do one performance earlier for an earlier audience and you have a meeting with Lauren Mich and and everybody sits in there the whole everyone and they chip away at those and you come up with the final uh group of uh uh skits if you will whatever or to do don't don't push don't push I'm War you don't push oh I am scared I am scared you want to be scared you want to be scared huh the best part was was just that you have a kind of a certain type of freedom because you have so little time to do anything you can't think and you just you get used to reading those Q cards so it's it's fun I I enjoy doing things comedy if you will what type of Comedy I can do because there's a certain type of Freedom with it well we've known each other a long time and we just uh especially in the Irishmen that was going on for years years and and we had always wanted Al to do play Jimmy haa and it went on for a long time before finally it happened Jimmy I'm trying to tell you something I know you are you're telling me they're threatening me and I got to do what they say which is it's more thre it's the bottom line and he he's great we had a you know couldn't have been happier that he was doing that movie yeah we've always had a a terrific Rel relationship and I don't know if we'll do anything you never know again I saw David O Russell's the fighter and I I thought it was really terrific and everybody in it and so then this was coming along and David was thinking of using me for the father and so and then I I read the book and then I read the script I know you don't want to listen to your father and listen to mine and I'm telling you got to pay attention to the signs the script was different than the book a little different but that always happens it's like the director or writer direct what makes it their own personalize it in some way and so I was in Jennifer Lawrence has been telling a story recently about you came to her wedding and uh she told you to leave her rehearsal dinner cuz you looked uncomfortable no I went I wasn't it was it was fine I mean I had I only came for that part of it anyway it was nice but wasn't any it wasn't that long maybe I stayed an hour for that were you surprised you know when you when you announced that you had another child that that uh it made so many headlines no I guess not with such a adorable baby it's she's so sweet and proba you just look at her and everything else goes away so it's uh it's just a great uh joy and relief to just be with her in the in the moment the kids all get a big kick out of her and um and the grandkids even who she's their uh their aunt and they're you know they're maybe about to be teenagers I think they are happy about it so I and and I'm going to have them more and more with her cuz they're the you know they're the fact that they'd all be together is everything to me well I was aware of the project that Marty and Le wanted to do and we were trying to get the Irishman going and there was a moment where they would seeing if we would do this first um but I wanted to do Irishman first but I committed to um killers of the flower Moon and and then they would Leo and Marty were telling me that there's another way they're going to do it but I just waited for the script but I was in no matter what I knew whatever it was it'd be good and um it was a a great experience especially shooting on the actually where the actual locations will these women die with how old s suffer from yness I have to make it the head rats come to you you see I always say this he's good with everyone he allows people to do what they can do best and then he'll direct from from there but he said whether it be an actor or Director of Photography a costume designer whatever he you know that's his uh and then he has very clear ideas but knows not to impose anything um and let the people just feel free enough to be expressed as much as they can through whatever they're doing as an actor as a costume designer as a Director of Photography uh and all the other departments you know it's important

Channel: People

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Id: Kpzcd-v1cgo

Length: 13min 19sec (799 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 07 2024