Mr. De Niro, you are known as one of the greatest actors of all time, not least in dramatic roles from Taxi Driver to most recently The Irishman. Despite that, you’ve also acted in silly comedies like now And Then Dad Came, which has been in cinemas since last week. Do you decide according to your own taste?
No, the sense of humor doesn’t necessarily have to be mine for me to accept an offer. It’s more important to me that the story has a certain truthfulness, at least in its core. I have to believe what I read in the script, then I’m interested. I think Italians are quite good at it, a mix of comedy and drama. In the case of And Then Came Dad, I liked how Italian-born comedian Sebastian Maniscalco talked about himself and his father here. And the roots of director Laura Terruso are also in Italy. My hopes were high that a coherent film would come out of it.
What was the last thing you laughed about yourself?
About my eleven-year-old daughter reading me the riot act the other day.
And because you just emphasized Italian: how important are your own roots to you?
Of course, my origins are much more mixed than Salvo’s, who I’m playing in “And Then Came Dad”. My paternal great-grandparents came to the United States from Italy, but my family history is also very Irish. But I identify with my Italian side, no question.
What is particularly Italian about you?
No idea. I can’t really describe what the Italian spirit is either. But I can feel him inside me.
In the film you even speak quite a lot of dialogue in Italian. Does that roll off your tongue?
I speak the language well, but wouldn’t call it fluent. i wish i was better But it’s enough for at least simple conversations and ordering in restaurants in Italy. Things like that. Let’s just put it this way: for an American, my Italian isn’t bad.
Are you – like Salvo – also a good cook?
No, and I don’t really cook much either. But of course I appreciate good food all the more.
How important was it to you that your character was based on Sebastian Maniscalco’s real life father? You certainly hit the real salvo, right?
Oh yes, that was really important to me too. I flew him to Oklahoma, where I shot Killers of the Flower Moon with Scorsese and Leo DiCaprio. Salvo visited me there for a few days, and whenever I didn’t have to be in front of the camera, we went through the script for “And Then Dad Came” together, or he told me something about his life. That was important to me, because I didn’t just want to know Sebastian’s view of his father, I wanted to get an idea for myself. And Salvo was happy I introduced him to Scorsese.
#Robert #Niro #Role #Dad