Robert De Niro Speaks Candidly About Recent Movie Flops
By Katie Couric
Robert De Niro has cemented a legacy that other actors only dream about, from "Taxi Driver" to "The Godfather Part II" and "Raging Bull," for which he won the Academy Award for best actor.
De Niro is still going strong at age 70.
The father of six children, ranging in age from under 3 to mid-40s, De Niro told me he's done having kids but certainly not done making movies.
I caught up with him at the annual Aspen Ideas Festival, where he's showing the HBO documentary "Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro, Sr." It's a moving tribute to his father, a noted painter who never quite managed to capitalize on his talent.
De Niro Sr. struggled with more than his art and where it was taking him. He battled depression and agonized over being gay. His son says it was something his father never spoke of, but it's clear from the film De Niro Sr. was tortured by not being able to live as openly as he might have wished.
De Niro told me he doesn't feel guilty about his own success but feels bad that his father didn't achieve more recognition for his work. In fact, he says, sharing his father's work with the world is his responsibility.
I asked De Niro about some of his own favorite roles. No surprise, "Raging Bull" is right at the top of the list, along with "The Godfather Part II" and my personal favorite, "Silver Linings Playbook."
We also talked about some of his other crowd pleasers like "Goodfellas" and "Meet the Parents."
There have been some clunkers in there (think "Grudge Match"). But De Niro stands behind all of the films he decides to make.
And then, of course, there are all of those De Niro impersonators. Joe Pesci and Bradley Cooper seem to have him nailed, but who's De Niro's personal favorite? Watch my interview with him to find out.
Currently De Niro is in production on "The Intern," a film he is shooting in New York with Anne Hathaway and director Nancy Meyers. The film is slated to open next year.
Watch the full interview here:
