Actor DeNiro fine with comedic roles
Intern star Robert De Niro has no complaints about being ‘ the comedy guy’
A new generation knows Robert De Niro as the comedy guy.
Forget about his heavy roles in Taxi Driver, The Godfather: Part II and Goodfellas. For many, he’s the actor from the light Analyze This and That, and the Fockers franchise.
When the 72- year- old is presented with the observation in a hotel suite, he shrugs it off De Niro style.
“I am not complaining,” he says. “It’s a two- pronged career. At this point, it’s all good.”
De Niro is all about nuance in his latest comedy The Intern. He plays Ben, a widowed senior citizen and retired sales executive who lands a job at a blossoming online fashion site run by the overwhelmed founder and CEO Jules ( Anne Hathaway).
At first, Ben is ignored on the job, but Jules soon learns there is more to him than his old- school business attire and his attention to detail.
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, the movie is accessible and the comedy’s glib, yet grounded by De Niro with a deft touch. In fact, the part was written specifically for the Oscar winner.
“I was honoured and flattered that Nancy asked me to be in the movie,” he says. “She deals with what is going on today and the whole flip part of me being the intern makes it more interesting and fun.”
Meyers says that having De Niro on board was pivotal to the film.
“I had never written anything like this before so it grew as I wrote it, and the movie became more clear as I was writing it,” she says. “The engine that was driving me was this relationship, and I think I was kind of wishing I had somebody like ( De Niro).”
For his part, De Niro appreciates the fact that the film exposes some generation gap issues prevalent in the modern world.
“Jules learns from ( Ben) even though he is older, and we tend to disregard older people and they are sidelined in a way,” De Niro says. “The point is that Ben is important to stop, look and listen to.”
In real life, the acclaimed actor is less likely to suggest things to his youthful colleagues, although “I love to give advice to younger people if they ask me.”
On the Intern set in New York, the cast peppered De Niro with questions which he graciously fielded.
“He is a really kind of a Zen guy,” says Meyers. “There ( would be) a million people around him and he is just sitting in a chair, having a little tuna sandwich, on the phone, and the world can be going by and he’s just got it down. And he is always there when you need him.”
De Niro has never been more active. He has five films on the go at various stages and he continues to be involved with the Tribeca Film Festival.
He’s also reuniting with his Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle co- star Jennifer Lawrence in the comedy- drama called Joy, which is set for a high- profile release at Christmas.
So when De Niro talks about Ben the intern, he’s inadvertently referring to himself. “We feel that when we are at a certain age, and we get older, people are less relevant in some ways, but this is not the case.”