The greatest actor Meryl Streep ever worked with: “It was a dream”
During her illustrious decade-spanning career, Meryl Streep has worked alongside her fair share of actors. Beginning her tenure as one of Hollywood’s most successful actors in the 1970s, Streep has appeared in a wide range of genres, from romantic comedies to heavy dramas, and meeting everyone from classic comedy actors to serious method actors.
Her first role came in 1977 alongside Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave in Julia, which won ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ at the Academy Awards. The fact that the first few movies Streep starred in were Oscar-nominated set the tone for her career. She earned her first Oscar nomination for The Deer Hunter, released in 1978. Her role was only meant to be small, but she gave such an impressive performance that she ended up receiving large amounts of significant critical acclaim.
Streep secured her first win with a leading role in the divorce drama Kramer vs Kramer. The role helped to elevate her to iconic status, even though it was still one of her earliest acting jobs. Evidently, the actor had what it took to become a star from the get-go, and she subsequently impressed audiences with performances in films like Sophie’s Choice, Out of Africa, The Bridges of Madison County, Adaptation, and The Devil Wears Prada.
Out of all of the actors that Streep has worked with during this time, there’s one who she found both “challenging” and “great” to act alongside. Robert De Niro, who emerged the decade before Streep in a string of low-budget movies, rose to prominence with his performances in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets and Taxi Driver. It was the latter film that inspired Streep to become a film actor. Until then, she was set on remaining in theatre, having starred in various productions for several years.
Yet, De Niro’s performance as Travis Bickle was so complex and instantly captivating that Streep decided she would begin auditioning for screen roles. She told the Golden Globes that she “idolised Robert De Niro after I saw Taxi Driver,” subsequently labelling him as “the kind of actor I want to be when I grow up.”
Luckily enough for Streep, the second film she ever appeared in, The Deer Hunter, featured De Niro. In fact, it was De Niro who suggested Streep to director Michael Cimino after seeing her perform in a play. She portrayed his girlfriend, Linda – although she was actually dating the late John Cazale at the time, who would make his final performance in The Deer Hunter.
Praising De Niro, Streep explained how “it was a dream to work with him the first time in The Deer Hunter”. The pair got on well, and “after that, we always wanted to do something else together, and we found the script of Falling in Love, which was a very delicate story with a lot of interior emotion.” Thus, the actors starred alongside each other in the romantic drama six years later, which sadly did not fare well at the box office.
Still, Streep had a great time performing with De Niro. “I love working with him because he’s so meticulous and he’s very committed to the moment that happens, he can’t stand any kind of lie and he’ll go on and on in search of the take that feels absolutely truthful. It’s really very challenging to work with him, but great.”
