BACK TO WORK, BOB!

Hollywood heavyweight Robert De Niro has no time to relax into retirement. He’s taking on more roles than ever to fund the lifestyle of his glamorous estranged wife

- LINDSAY DE FREITAS

AFTER six decades in the game, he’s been there, done that and got the accolades to prove it, including two Oscars, six Oscar nominations and a handful of lifetime achievement awards.

And they’re well deserved. Robert de Niro is one of the finest actors Hollywood has produced, immersing himself in a range of powerful roles.

He was a disturbed Vietnam veteran in Taxi Driver, a paranoid boxer in Raging Bull, a menacing madman in Cape Fear. His portrayal of the young Vito Corleone helped The Godfather become one of the most successful movie franchises of all time.

So you’d think, with all this under his belt and his 78th birthday just three months away, Robert might want to follow actors of his generation such as Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson and pick and choose his roles.

Instead, Robert is busier than ever. In the past 17 years he has starred in 42 films –an average of nearly three movies a year.

And unlike the masterpieces of yesteryear, many were stinkers, like Las Vegas and Bad Grandpa.

The veteran actor has also squeezed in dozens of commercial campaigns – appearing in ads for everything from vehicle manufacturer Kia and British bread maker Warburtons to credit card giant American Express.

According to his camp, he has no choice. He has to “take every project that comes along”, his lawyer claims, in order to pay for his estranged wife’s love of designer clothing and diamonds.

All this was revealed recently as Robert’s acrimonious divorce from Grace Hightower (66) heated up in a New York court.

The pair, whose tumultuous 21-year marriage collapsed in 2018, are fighting over how much she should be paid until their 2004 prenuptial agreement comes into effect.