Robert De Niro, who turned 81 last August, cares little about talking about himself or his films these days, despite being a living legend of American cinema (two Oscars for The Godfather II and Raging Bull). At the center of his thoughts is Donald Trump and the obscene idea that he might be reelected. “A sociopathic liar, a dangerous thug, an imbecile wannabe dictator,” De Niro lashes out with his voice shaking with anger, almost foaming.
We caught up with him via zoom from his New York home to talk about his new film, Ezra, which is generating much anticipation. Directed by Tony Goldwyn, the film is a family drama in which De Niro plays the grandfather of an autistic child, played by William A. Fitzgerald, with Bobby Cannavale as the father. It bears mentioning that De Niro has a son on the autism spectrum, Elliot, fathered by Grace Hightower, to whom he is very close.
The actor will also star in the Netflix miniseries Zero Day, a political thriller that tackles the burning issue of misinformation and conspiracy theories that are all the rage on social media, as a former U.S. president involved in a complex and high-risk scenario. This is the first time De Niro has tried his hand at starring in a television series.
Do you feel close to your character in Ezra?
The author, Tony Spiridakis, has a son like that. I have one of my kids is on the spectrum. Those things are important, that we all we have a much deeper understanding of that. So I was trying to make it work for myself, and I didn’t want to create a lot of problems about it, but I just felt certain things.
You have understandably never talked about your son’s condition before. Has this film changed anything?
It’s fine to come out with it. I’ve been involved with certain things with my kid. The most important thing is, in my situation as any parent in our situation, understand what to do, what’s going to happen when you get older, make sure they’re okay.
You always were very explicit about your criticism of Donald Trump. Are you hopeful, do you think Kamala can make it?
It’s hopeful, very hopeful. But it ain’t over till it’s over. And I’m concerned that there is the chance that Trump, God forbid, would get elected. It would be a nightmare for many people. I believe the country would right itself eventually, as other countries have done, when a temporary dictator comes in or someone like that Trump type. Because so many people will rise against him, even those who voted for him will see that they made a mistake. I have no understanding for anybody, even business people who vote for him or say they’ll vote for him and support him, who are in positions of power and influence, and they ought to know better. They think they can control him. They can’t. The people around him have no good intentions, as we all see with Project 2025. It’s insanity. And I just hope to God that we will get past this and past him and move on to something positive and good. And Kamala Harris represents that.
Any advice to the American people?
We need turnout. We need voter turnout. Democracy prevails whenever we turn out to vote. It’s when people don’t show up at the polls that these yahoos win. So, you know, we just got to all show up. Men, women, people of color, everybody has to show up and vote.
Would you be hopeful if Kamala wins some things might change?
Of course. She understands what it’s about. Trump doesn’t care about climate change or any of that stuff. Some of the people who support him are the obvious fossil fuel companies. They, of course, would like that he’s elected to allow them to keep going. It’s about immediate gratification; stopping is not a priority for them at all, unless they’re forced to do it. It’s like the big cigarette companies: you need government to force them to toe the line. Because there is a problem with climate change. We all know that. And it’s just insanity not to think about those things and try and help to right that situation, which will take a lot of work.
You starred in a TV series, Zero Day, which is a little bit about this.
Yes, it is interesting. It was done by very intelligent, smart people. It’s a political thriller. I enjoyed doing it. There’s a lot of hard work. It’s the first time that I’ve ever done a limited series.
Any other films coming up?
I starred in an Argentine series called Nada, in which I am an American writer who is friends with the main character, a food critic played by Luis Brandoni. I’m opening a giant new theater, Wildflower, in Astoria (New York) with my son Raphael and my partner Adam Gordon. Then I’m not sure, at this point. I have other stuff I’ve got to take care of, family stuff and all that. And my restaurants Nobu: we have places opening in Thailand and in Vietnam, and we just celebrated our 30th anniversary on the 8th of October in New York.
Do you like continuing to make independent films?
Yes, and that’s why I wanted to open the studio, to support independent filmmaking. It’s very important. I just saw Megalopolis, together with Francis (Ford Coppola), and that is a good example of independent cinema. It’s more abstract than a film like Ezra, but it expresses Francis’ vision of life. And there is no right or wrong way to do it, it is what it is and everyone will see it differently. It’s a very special film. And if someone like Francis believes in it so much that he sold his vineyard to make it, that’s what he had to do! I hope people will go and see it, it’s art, it’s an expression of a great artist.
