Robert De Niro has been an anchor for Bradley Cooper in more ways than one. At the Tribeca Film Festival Saturday night, the actors sat down for a talk about their careers, with Cooper sharing a handful of precious stories about the ways De Niro impacted his career and personal life.
The pair first worked together on the 2011 drama Limitless, then again on the 2012 drama Silver Linings Playbook, directed by David O. Russell. In between, Cooper suffered a huge personal loss when his father died after a bout with lung cancer. But as he revealed at the festival, getting to play De Niros son in Playbook inadvertently helped him cope with his fathers death.
“Its probably the reason why I grew so close to you and love you so terribly as a friend,” Cooper began. “I got to say the word dad all the time after my dad passed away, and I got to say it to you. It was this beautiful thing David allowed me to do and to be a part of. That movie, I have to say, was so special. And we all felt it every day on set. I owe David for life for that.”
De Niro smiled and clapped along with the audience after Cooper shared his story. Though he was there to ostensibly moderate a chat with the American Sniper star, it was Cooper who guided most of the conversation, along with some help from Russell. The director was sitting in the audience but was eventually brought up to the stage after De Niro and Cooper urged him to join them. “Help me out,” De Niro joked once Russell took the stage.
For a fuller picture of just how quiet De Niro can be, look no further than this statement Joe Pesci once made to Russell: “If you dont give him what to say, hes not gonna say anything.”
Still, the Oscar-winning star can be loquacious when he feels like it, as Cooper testified. Early in the actors career, he auditioned for a part in the 2009 film Everybodys Fine, trying out for a role that later went to Sam Rockwell. Somehow, his audition tape ended up in De Niros hands; he called Coopers agent to set a meeting with the actor. Cooper went to meet his idol at the Bel Air Hotel.
“You said You're not gonna get the role, but I wanted you to come cause I saw something and I see it now. Thats it. Give me a hug,” Cooper recalled. “You hugged me and I left.”
Later, his mother asked how it went, but Cooper couldnt say for sure. But even that quick exchange was enough to keep him going “forever,” Cooper said. Though De Niro completely forgot about the exchange when Cooper told him about it years later, he admitted that meeting young actors and filmmakers to give them a few words of encouragement is something he likes to do from time to time.
As the panel began to wind to a close, De Niro couldnt resist breaking up the warm and fuzzy vibe of the night by tossing a jab at hisgreatestarchenemy. During the Q&A portion, a fan asked De Niro what role he wouldnt want to play.
“You wanna guess?” he said with a laugh. “I'll tell ya—Donald Trump.“
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JESSICA CHASTAIN, actor, producer.
With her cherry hair and Creamsicle complexion, Jessica Chastain possesses a classical beauty suitable for Victorian high collars (Crimson Peak), to-the-manor-born hauteur (Miss Julie), heroic archery (The Huntsman: Winters War), and parts requiring her to keep her dimpled chin cocked. Chastain has also dived into the netherworlds of counter-intelligence (Zero Dark Thirty) and high-roller underground gambling (Mollys Game, as real-life “poker princess” Molly Bloom) without losing translucence. On the horizon is perhaps Chastains greatest challenge: playing the sainted country-music singer Tammy Wynette in George and Tammy.Photo: Photograph by Kathryn MacLeod.Annie Leibovitz and team observe Jessicas Diehl and Chastain.Photo: Photograph by Kathryn MacLeod.
ROBERT DE NIRO, actor, producer, director.
It is impossible to determine which is more intimidating: Robert De Niros scowl, which in his gangster roles signals a beatdown about to ensue (see GoodFellas), or his jack-o-lantern smile, which indicates hes going to relish the beatdown about to ensue (see his Al Capone in The Untouchables). Violence isnt the only language his characters speak, but it is the one in which they are most articulate, especially in the collaborations with Martin Scorsese, which began with Mean Streets and continue today with The Irishman (Netflix), co-starring, among others, Al Pacino (as Jimmy Hoffa!), Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, and Bobby Cannavale—ya gotta problem with that?Photo: Photograph by Kathryn MacLeod.V.F. features editor Jane Sarkin and Annie Leibovitz review wardrobe options with Jessica Diehl.Photo: Photograph by Kathryn MacLeod.Photo: Photograph by Kathryn MacLeod.Photo: Photograph by Kathryn MacLeod.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.PreviousNext
Yohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.