Back in the day, Robert DeNiro used to be a strong silent type when it came to talking about himself or promoting his films. For most of my life, DeNiro came across as grumpy and uncommunicative in interviews. But there’s been a real shift in recent years. I kind of think it was because of Donald Trump. DeNiro loathes Trump with every fiber of his being, and for the past six years or so, DeNiro has used his promotional interviews to talk about politics and how Trump f–king sucks. It’s pretty great, actually. Well, here’s another one for the pile – DeNiro spoke to Rolling Stone about Killers of the Flower Moon, his family and how Trump can absolutely never get near the White House again.
His busy 2023, which saw him welcome a baby girl & lose a grandson: “It’s a lot. I have no choice but to plow through. And my biggest concern now, with everything else, is us getting out of this situation with a monster in Trump. This is a classic grift. This is unreal. If you look at other totalitarian countries like Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, it will affect everybody in ways you can’t even imagine.”
His new daughter Gia DeNiro is half-Asian: “Half-Chinese. I want to try to teach her Chinese and show her nursery rhymes in English and Chinese. I’m hoping to have her learn both.
He also has half-Black kids: “Years ago, Joe Pesci said to me, “You’re more American than most Americans,” because I had two children at the time that were mixed. And I never thought of it at all. But then I said, “You know, he’s got a point.” That’s what this country is. But every group has to get out there and vote.
His recent Gotham Awards speech was censored: “What happened was I was working on the speech with a writer, Lewis Friedman, and he gave it to them, and then one of the consultants had put something in the speech about how kids in Oklahoma aren’t even able to read the book Killers of the Flower Moon. And then I didn’t hear anything. They gave me the script, and I looked at the prompter, and I asked after, “What happened?” And they assumed that I had spoken to Marty or somebody about it, but I hadn’t. They assumed that I would be OK with it, and maybe I’m still getting it wrong, and I wasn’t. Marty and I spoke about it the next day and he said, “Yeah, I had sent you a text and [Apple] asked if you could dial it down, respectfully.”
It was probably Apple’s fault. “I didn’t even want to blame [Apple], but I was annoyed in the moment with whoever did it. If Marty had called me and said, “Apple asked me to do this and that,” then we would’ve gone over it. But I told Marty, “Everything in that speech is leading up to what this movie is about. And I don’t want to take away from the movie. It’s not a rant about Trump. It’s appropriate.”
Losing some fans because he speaks out about Trump: “You can’t please everybody. There’s always going to be somebody who doesn’t like you for this or that. All I know is: Trump brings out the worst in people. He’s a monster. I didn’t think that in the beginning when he was first elected. I thought, “Maybe he’ll straighten out.” Now, this guy is beyond dangerous, and I just hope people can realize it. Once you go down that road, it won’t be easy to come back. I was just at the White House for the Kennedy Center Honors with Billy Crystal, and I got emotional. The bands were playing Christmas songs, and it was so upbeat, and I thought, “This is what it has to be.” Like, what’s going on with this Trump stuff? This is crazy.
Whether he thinks Pres. Biden is the right guy to take on Trump: “I think that if Biden was on a gurney and couldn’t move anything but his eyes to blink “yes” or “no,” he’s our person. There’s no way that he’s not the guy to take Trump down. Nikki Haley, maybe? We need anything to get rid of Trump. If she came in it could at least throw him off and have her be the nominee. But Biden is the best person at this point. All I hope is that everybody gets out to vote, and all the minorities and young people get out and vote, vote, vote. You’ve gotta get out there and vote.
On January 6th: “It’s unbelievable. There was the crazy one with the hat and the horns. It was the inmates running the asylum.
Killers of the Flower Moon: “I think it’s a masterpiece. A great movie. I don’t know how corrective it will ultimately be, but the story is there and it’s for the audience to decide how it affects them. With Marty and Leo, it was their idea to change it so that the white guy from the FBI named Tom White didn’t come in and save the day. It’s about the relationship between Ernest and his uncle, and Ernest and Mollie, played by Lily Gladstone, who’s just wonderful. It’s complex and asks a lot of questions. The conflict is not even that clear with Leo’s character’s intentions.
There’s a lot more about his relationship with Marty Scorsese, growing up in New York, and at one point, the RS interviewer mentions that Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle is sort of the proto-incel, and DeNiro asks what “incel” means. When it’s explained to him – “It means ‘involuntary celibate.’ It’s a group of young men, primarily online, who have become hostile toward women because they can’t attract them and start sh-tposting about politics while fantasizing about exacting violent revenge” – DeNiro answers with “Yeah, I can see that.”
As for what he says about Trump and politics – I laughed out loud at “I think that if Biden was on a gurney and couldn’t move anything but his eyes to blink ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ he’s our person.” Amen. I feel the same way. Do I think Biden is a perfect Democrat? Of course not, but he’s empathetic and intelligent and he’s got a great team around him, and “any Democrat with a pulse” is better than Donald Trump.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro depart the “Killers Of The Flower Moon” red carpet during the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 20, 2023 in Cannes, France.,Image: 777785239, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / Avalon 
Robert De Niro, Director Martin Scorsese, Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio attend the “Killers Of The Flower Moon” photocall at the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 21, 2023 in Cannes, France.,Image: 777909567, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / Avalon 
Robert De Niro attend the “Killers Of The Flower Moon” photocall at the 76th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 21, 2023 in Cannes, France.,Image: 777909894, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / AvalonncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcW1gaYNxe9GomZ6qpJSxprrIq6aYop%2BarKO1w56lmJufqrmlq8Gelqimj5asqMHRp5yyl5iawKC%2F06KjpZeknbKgvsign62Xl6rGoMDOmJuenpWWwaDA0a6kqWc%3D