Robert DeNiro’s career is so prolific on any given day you can find one of his iconic films on television. Random today: Casino, in which he stars with Sharon Stone. On Monday night, many friends came to speak about his work at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual tribute, each noting a personal favorite. For Sean Penn, it was The Deer Hunter, and he went on to call Raging Bull a work of art at the level of DaVinci. Meryl Streep recounted a story of her waiting tables while at Yale Drama School and taking a break to see her friend Michael Moriarty in a baseball movie called Bang the Drum Slowly. She liked Moriarty’s work just fine, but everyone fell in love with another actor in the film, one who everyone assumed to be intellectually challenged, his performance was so authentic. That was DeNiro. Then Taxi Driver came out, and everyone realized who Robert DeNiro was, and he was in fact acting.

Harvey Keitel told amusing stories about DeNiro stealing his thunder, Ben Stiller about DeNiro intimidating him when they were making the Focker movies. Martin Scorsese presented the Chaplin award to DeNiro, telling how they knew each other from the neighborhood around Little Italy, and what a special bond that was, like a shorthand that can explain the eight movies they made together; they are looking for the next. Lately DeNiro has been politically active, speaking out about the current administration’s hostility toward the arts, and congratulating all present for their support. He added, “I love Hollywood, but New York is home.” 

Look for him next on television, in the role of Bernie Madoff in the HBO movie, “The Wizard of Lies.”

Regina Weinreich

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