Robert De Niro | Cambridge Union 

Tarantino once called DeNiro the greatest movie maker of all time, on the basis his collaborations and output was unsurpassed by any director or actor, and I think that’s right. Godfather 2, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Deerhunter, Casino, Jacknife, Ronin, Mean Streets, 1900, Once Upon a Time in America, The Irishman, Taxi Driver, King of Comedy, The Mission- bloody hell it goes on and on. A true legend.

How amazing of him to fly from NY for and interact with the younger generation giving such amazing advice and answers to his questions. It's obvious he is a shy guy and is so humble. For me, Heat is one of my favourites films of all time. A true legend, how lucky for those there to be in his presence.

Robert De Niro for me is the greatest screen actor of all time. His versatility is unmatched and how he can get in and out of character is something to behold. He's a genius at his craft. He really is.

Another underrated classic in "Midnight Run". Best "buddy movie" of all time.

The "Hark I hear the cannon roar" joke was a gem moment. Love how pleased he looked with himself after that haha. Smacking his lips.

i love how we all expect these larger-than-life answers, but he just sort of shrugs unassumingly, explaining his ideas with little eloquence. I think Robert DeNiro teaches us to stop overthinking things, really.

What a privilege for these students to meet one of the biggest names of Hollywood.

Robert de Niro does it differently He has no frills he is completely genuine and sincere basic about that which is at hand the people the material Yes, he expresses himself down to earth in a gritty manner which encaptulates energises and just blows the audience away… and the imagination does the rest How does one describe brilliance when it comes so naturally⁉️ 💫🥂 🪖

I like Bob because he's modest, honest and straight to the point. He's also someone who isn't a big fan of the whole celebrity culture and generally prefers to stay out of the limelight.

De Niro is the greatest actor this world has ever seen in my opinion, but this interview really showcases the disconnect between how unbelievably focused he is as an actor, yet how awkward and speechless he is when it comes to talking about his craft. He doesn't really answer one single question here in a coherent and fluid way. At first, I thought he was just dodging the questions, but after a while I realized that he really doesn't know what to say. It almost explains why he's such a brilliant actor as its the only avenue he has to express his emotions and feelings.

De Niro is better at saying other people's words, but he is a sincere man who cares about the world.

De Niro would make a great Charles Bukowski character, he's in the right moment of his life to do it.

It doesn’t matter that his movies over the last 10 years have been questionable.His work from the 70’s-90’s is unsurpassable.He has been in many of the greatest films ever made.Those roles will be watched for generations forever inspiring young actors.Respect 🤟🏼

Why bother asking one of the greatest actors about the situation in Ukraine? I wouldn't ask a politician what they thought of Robert de Niro's films.

Huge respect for his ability and straight talking sensibility- great interview 👏

Wow, Deniros advice to actors at 19:00 is fantastic

His message is really very simple. BE YOU BE UNIQUE STAY TRUE TO WHO AND WHAT YOU ARE.

Will all respect! Robert DeNiro is the greatest Man of the Time. Is quite example and model for us . I guess people need to learn , from such people like Him . Being today a Fella like Robert, isn’t easy.

When he was “At The Actor’s Studio” he was asked what would you say if he got to the pearly gates. He said, “I don’t know, but he’s got a lot of explaining to do”

Absolute icon, but so humble and down to earth person. The greatness didn't get to the heads of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, great human beings and amazing artists, incredible of their craft. We should not just enjoy their movies, but also listen their advices and life stories. Also looks like De Niro is enjoying himself and feels comfortable during interviews and talk shows in UK.

I love Robert, a true and authentic human being, let alone one of the greatest actors in history.

This is such as privilege for all this young people to be able to learn from one of the best and respected actor like Mr Robert De Niro !!

Great conversation, fair play to Mr Deniro for engaging so much with the audience and thoughtfully answering their questions.

A standing ovation would be more appropriate, either as he was coming, or leaving.

That hark I hear the cannons roar joke was great and the way he told it...that was brilliant, that was De Niro in character right there.

I only recently came across Cambridge Union on RU-vid but really impressed with the content , interesting & informative with such impressive guests who have a real life story to tell. What a privilege for the students to question & listen first hand to such guests

Such a brilliant interview! DeNiro comes across as so humble. The thing I'll take away from this is "Don't be part of the problem" 💓.

Filming in Greece and pops over to England to do this interview, what a legend. Blessed to have him on the same soil as me.

The best part is towards the end, when he talks at some length about Brando, and then Elia Kazan.

Robert de Niro is infamous for his interviews, but this one is just striking. When he is lighthearted you don't want to miss a second. :-)

Bob is amazing and delightful in this interview. :)

This unassuming man was the face of new Hollywood, pioneering that laid the groundwork for the great cinema/TV we've seen in the last 50 years (1970-1980 was something special). Altman, Lumet, Scorsese, Nicholson, Polanski, Cazale, Dunnaway and with Kubrick still at his perpetual peak. King of Comedy one of the funniest films ever made, but overshadowed by his more famous gangster turns.

He is the only actor i watch all of his movies

Thank you to Cambridge Union and the team for sharing this piece with Robert De Niro. When he speaks, I am always interested in what he has to say as I feel great respect for his wisdom, his brilliant mind, his worth ethic and his dedication to his work.

Thank you for this I was remembered you for the appreciation for what you’ve done thank you thank you

A wonderful listen. Great compere and great to hear all the 'bright young things' too.

Sad Bob's hearing is going, but that's inevitable with age. He doesn't say much because he comes from an era when actors let the acting speak for itself. You don't need to be super articulate or show off if the work speaks for itself.

Mr De Niro. Just great to see a great man.

Robert Deniro is my favourite actor and my inspiration ❤ he is an method actor and this interview of him is wonderful👍 Tq Cambridge University for having this interview ❤🙏

My all time favourite actor what makes him special is the attention to detail and LIVES THE ROLE

I love this man. He's the best actor all time! He seems like an awesome guy too. No one is touching his resume ever. The Tom Brady or Michael Jordan of acting!

Scorcese-De Niro is something like a Lennon-McCartney relationship

2 months later after this Bob celebrate his 80´s birthday. Happy Birthday Bob ! Never forget when you scared the living daylights out of me watching Taxi Driver as a 15 year old teen. Since then hooked for life. A +40 years journey following you evolve to one of the greatest. Brainy questions from the Cambridge union audience and I have to admit that they sometimes were pretty neboulous on top of it. But Raging Bull is chill and collected

Sir Bob, your talent is raw with sincerity, and having the ability to read people's egos and then deal with them by not using your own is inspirational. you are so real, it hurts, { in a positive way } xxx it is hard to pick a favorite but when I saw Mary Shelly's Frankenstein my level of admiration was elevated and I realised then that you can portray anyone. I can't believe you have been in over 100 films which are all incredible, you are both puppet and master. Tiamo, Sarah.

One of the greatest, emotional, intellectual and deepest actors in human history.

I think it's well known that De Niro isn't a great raconteur. He's well known for being arguably the hardest A lister to interview.

Really enjoying these interviews - great channel and super insightful. Keep it up (subscribed)

He is not only a great actor, but also a very humble man.

A Brilliant Actor,, 👍👍👍👍👍👍

this was so cool -- i really enjoyed watching this! :)

Really enjoyed this. Thanks.

Greatest actor all time brilliant in goodfella

An absolute Legend. I really enjoyed this, it was very generous of De Niro to take the time do this and he seems so down to earth, thoughtful and a very funny guy. Some really good questions too, especially as it’s hard to ask him something that he hasn’t already been asked countless times already. Great interview.

He was more communicative and eloquent than he usually is. I knew a friend of his family who reported that his school teachers described him as 'personality deprived' or something of the sort....he always observed an repeated the gestures of others. I think that he is possibly the greatest answer of all time. His performance is Awakening is simply stunning. The only other actor maybe could have played the part would be Dustin Hoffman or Daniel Day lewis.

Thanks so much for posting

Very open and honest, nice gentleman.

Would like to personally Thank Robert DeNiro for coming over to our little corner of the world, I appreciate it so much especially considering how busy you must be, my favourite actor by far even better than my favourite Al Pacino, Bob (DeNiro) can pull of comedy, Crime,Drama's etc so effortlessly he makes acting seem so easy, that's a talent itself,

this actor still better than actor born in 2000s

One of the all time greats

An underrated voice he is.

Greatest actor of all time! His performance in Mean Streets is just perfection.

Man, this is a fascinating interview with deniro. Stick with it. There are some golden nuggets here

A TRUE LEGEND. AMAZING ACTOR

Looking forward to seeing him in Killers of the Flower Moon

I’m glad he’s doing well he sounds great

De Niro , I think humbly answering the question about what makes a great actor ? the same thing that makes every individual great at his or her chosen profession , passion, dedication, and a bit of talent thrown in etc. I guess that sums up De Niro 👌🏻😎

I’m shocked he turned up for this interview, he’s renowned for not doing interviews, you can see he’s a very shy type of person and doesn’t believe he’s anything special and is mesmerised that people are interested in him, now that been humble, young actors of today think they are saving the world or curing cancer.

Such a brilliant actor! Watching midnight run over again a few times. Such a great storyline mixed with striking Jack Walsh's conscious by Charles Grodin. The emotional family get-together and the finishing off, and the unexpected release really grips you as the best comedy and friendship movies ever. Along with Starsky and Hutch is what makes a great movie that entails deep friendship and great chemistry. God bless you Robert De Niro...and thank you for the years of entertainment!

Wow, I almost couldn't believe this...he's actually talking..FOR AN HOUR.

Great talk, thanks, Mr De Niro .

Really enjoyed this.

I watched it until he started slagging off the previous president who there were no wars under and much more stability and peace in the world, I hope he's pleased with the new fella with it kicking off everywhere.

No one asked the best question: who was the most fun to work with, Robin Williams or Don Rickles?

Woah, I’m excited to watch this

Bravo. Tres informatif. Merci. Continuez l' excellent travail.

Legend. Enough said

To think he has been in the best mob movies ever Casino, Goodfellas and Bronx Tale. Raging Bull, also Taxi Driver, Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown, Mean Streets and Righteous kill and that is just films in the forefront of my mind which I loved.

Thanks a lot 🙏 Much support from 🇿🇦 ZAR- Durban Rich Future by DSK Clothing ❤

OUR NEW EVERTON MANAGER

Just love him... would listen to him reading a phone directory

This event was fascinating not only because of the speaker and his reputation but also because of the cross-cultural and, more interestingly, cross-generational implications. It is encouraging to see and hear younger generations expressing genuine interest and enthusiasm for such a mature personality as well as his impressions of life and art.

His first movie which I saw was the missionaries -I’m still in awe of his performance to this day

hes so funny without even trying

He's spot on the Godfather, The Exorcist, Jaws, was the first time since the late 40s you saw queues down the street, changed movies overnight the block buster

De Niro with the jokes and everything! He's really came out of himself in the last 60 years.

I would love to meet Robert De Niro. As an artist I also love his father De Niro Sr.

Brilliant 💕❤💕

Missed opportunity at the beginning of the Q and A session for De Niro to say "you talking to me?"

James, the interviewer, was obviously nervous and star struck and asked superficial questions that have been asked so many times before for those who have followed Bob’s career and interviews. More interesting questions were those from the audience and not about his acting career e.g those on politics, early childhood influences, best price of advice in life etc

Soo many great questions completely unanswered!

Yes, you certainly could have got a better interviewer in all of Cambridge to interview someone like DeNiro who is not the easiest one to get to open out. Less of gushing and more of business would have put the thespian at ease and would have been very beneficial to all present.

What phenomenal, historical work he’s done over the years. Raging Bull and The King Of Comedy in a couple of years of difference! And the best thing is, he knows it.

Yep, as quite a few of the comments suggest, the interview didn't go well. Why not? Early on, James did well to tap into De Niro's sense of humour .. just snippets of it. He did well initially because the American sense of humour is particularly difficult to tap into, especially for a Brit and especially, I imagine, in the context that is the Cambridge Union, where the grey matter works overtime and, dare I say, the heart, feelings and emotions are trained to take a back seat. I was willing James to grab those moments of humour to lead De Niro into story telling, not necessarily about his films as such but about the relationships that are/were special to him, e.g. with his family, and about being Italian American, etc. De Niro really struggled to articulate intellectually, so jump to the feelings and emotions. How does he feel about being an Italian American? About his role as a father? He's a humble guy, a big kid really and began to respond well to the girl in the audience who goaded his a bit about his 'one-liners'. She tapped into his sense of fun and humour. The intellect in that room is seriously impressive and holds so much potential, but the skills of empathy, of quickly sensing an interview going down hill and instinctively knowing how to rescue it, need some work. Guys like Parkinson made it look so easy.

‘You talkin to me? Feel lucky punk?’ Legend and humble guy.

Uncanny how a diverse audience makes everyone in it seem so dull. Will we ever get it right?

Great interview, such a down to earth man for such a great talent 😃

The President of the Union could usefully ask its members not to preface every question with "I was wondering..." and then speak so poorly that they are unintelligible.

Idk bout u guys but i think de niro is the cutest human being

The King my idole 😍😘🙏🤴

Please forbid cell phones next time. Is anyone capable of enjoying a special moment (they can easily re-watch on youtube) without pointlessly recording /filming / photographing with their phone? For fucks sake.