Have tuna, will travel
Robert De Niro’s moments of Zen
A new generation knows Robert De Niro as a 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’s 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’s 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; the comedy is 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 be-
came more clear as I was writing it,” she says.
On the Intern set in New York, Hathaway admits that the cast, including the actress, 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.”
As filming progressed, De Niro’s calm demeanour yet committed focus made Hathaway less anxious in her emoting opposite him. “I had a lot of film history on my side,” she says. “Bob is good at having chemistry with people so I assumed as long as I did not mess this up we would be OK.”
Indeed, De Niro has never been more active. He has five films on the go at various stages and he continues to be active with the Tribeca Film Festival.
He’s also reuniting with his Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle co-star Jennifer Lawrence in the comedydrama called Joy, which is set for a high-profile release at Christmas.
So when De Niro talks about Ben the intern, he’s also 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,” he says.
Mind you, he’s reminded of his important celebrity status from all generations every time he ventures outside in his beloved Manhattan.
“It’s a little disconcerting but you get used to it,” De Niro says.