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Why Robert De Niro Doesn’t Consider Himself a Legend

Posted on by angelo
Why Robert De Niro Doesn’t Consider Himself a Legend

(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Stills)

Many actors have embraced this legendary status with open arms, and it’s only right that any actor acknowledges this praise when it’s deserved. However, don’t expect Robert De Niro to follow suit.

In the same way that he was inspired by Marlon Brando’s transformative style, there are generations of performers who hold De Niro on a pedestal as one of the greatest talents to ever grace the silver screen, which is fair enough because that’s exactly what he is.

His Oscar-winning performance in Angry Bull is arguably one of the best examples of immersive acting that will ever exist, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s proven itself in a handful of all-time classics, winning numerous awards along the way.

He won an Oscar on his first attempt when The Godfather 2 earned him a statuette for “Best Supporting Actor”, while he was later nominated for Taxi driver, The Deer Hunter, Awakenings, The Cape of Fears, The Silver Linings PlaybookAnd The Flower Moon Killers.

That doesn’t even cover Martin Scorsese’s film. Mean streets, The King of Comedy, The Goodfellas Or Casinodon’t worry, my friend, Midnight RaceSergio Leone’s Elegiac Once Upon a Time in AmericaMichael Mann Heathis comedy masterclass in Meet the parentsor a rejuvenated turning point in the long gestation of his most famous collaborator The Irishman.

It’s simply a legendary work, and people who do legendary things tend to be considered legendary. But don’t tell him that to his face, because De Niro turns a blind eye to the mere mention of such deified status and blames it all on the mythology that has been built around him over the years.

“There is this image that has been constructed. Invented, rather,” he explained to Bafta“And I live my life. I don’t consider myself some kind of movie legend, but simply an actor who does the best he can with the material he has at the time.”

An admirable approach to his own livelihood, but to pretend that it’s all down to the material doesn’t hold water when you consider the sheer volume of crap De Niro has emerged into at a later stage. The ill-advised re-collage with Al Pacino in Righteous Murderterrible comedies like War with Grandpa And Dirty Grandpasupernatural poop Gift from heavenand the decreasing quality of the Meet the parents The sequels are not the work of a man attracted solely by a first-rate script.

As much as it pains him to admit it, De Niro is a movie legend. And has been for some time now, but the star, who has a reputation for being publicity shy, is in no mood to be seduced by such well-deserved hype.

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