Films like Midnight Run, Analyse That, and Meet the Fockers showed that his formidable screen persona can also revel in a comic setting. We laugh simply because we are relieved his characters have a lighter side, even though that sense of menace is always present.
And yet, away from the camera, the Manhattan-born movie icon is known to shun the media and eschew tabloid interest in his private life. To those who grew up watching the actor deliver some of his greatest performances, this disinterest in the press and the paparazzi matters not one bit.
“I’m an actor,” he begins.
“I pretend, in almost everything I do professionally. When I go home I can relax and be myself, and I think everyone wants to be themselves without interruptions. I’m flattered that people are interested in me, but really, it’s not necessary,” he laughs.
Ultimately, there are few actors in Hollywood so utterly dedicated to their craft. It is a devotion and unending drive to reinvent that makes Robert De Niro—or Bobby to his closest friends—one of our enduring acting greats.
But even now in his seventies, with a full five decades of cinematic success to his name, he remains wary of the fleeting nature of fame and fortune.
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.
May Fiction
An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month
Wine Not
In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food
Train Booking Hacks
With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again
My Britain: Cheltenham
A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here
Stand Tall, Ladies
Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?