When Robert De Niro had tea with the Taliban: “It was all very cordial”
When young Robert De Niro was first starting out as a Method actor, taking classes with Lee Strasberg and idolising the likes of Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, did he ever imagine himself sitting in the desert in Afghanistan having tea with the Taliban? It isn’t the usual trajectory for an actor, and it certainly isn’t the sort of aspiration that gets them through drama school. And yet, the experience turned out to be an improbably pleasant one, apparently.
It all came about because of the 2006 movie The Good Shepherd. Although it isn’t the greatest film ever made, it is notable because De Niro himself directed it. If you’re shocked by this, I don’t blame you. De Niro is synonymous with prestigious acting (and accepting terrible films late in life). How on earth could we have forgotten that he also directed an above-average historical thriller?
It was actually his second foray into helming a movie after 1993’s A Bronx Tale and is, to date, his last. Set between the late 1930s and early 1960s, The Good Shepherd chronicles the origins of the CIA through the eyes of one of its first counterintelligence officers (played by Matt Damon). Set in multiple periods and on multiple continents, it’s an ambitious film for a relatively inexperienced director, but given how much time De Niro has spent with Martin Scorsese on film sets over the years, he could hardly be considered a novice.
He was also committed to doing the script justice. He put the legwork in, travelling to Afghanistan and Pakistan on a reconnaissance mission. When asked about the excursion in a 2007 interview with Uncut, De Niro said, “That was an interesting trip! We met one of the commanders of the local Taliban. We had tea with them, and gave them $200 for a women’s school, which I know they went away and set up.”
How he was able to confirm that is unclear, and sadly, given the current situation in Afghanistan, that school is guaranteed to no longer exist. Still, the meeting seemed nice enough. “It was all very cordial when we met them,” De Niro said. “Over tea, very friendly. They showed us how they defeated the Russians.” Again, he didn’t elaborate on this bombshell, but that’s pretty on brand for a man known for being the world’s most frustrating interview subject.
The Good Shepherd was a modest success, pulling in $100million at the box office and earning mostly positive reviews from critics. De Niro was widely praised for his filmmaking technique, and apparently, it had been on his bucket list for quite a while. “I always wanted to direct,” he said. “Directing is a lot more of a commitment though, a lot more time. This has been a long-haul process.”
For an actor who regularly makes several films a year, that drawn-out process of directing may be the reason he hasn’t done more work behind the camera. Despite showing an obvious aptitude for it and a willingness to be meticulous from start to finish, he doesn’t show any inclination to take another crack at it any time soon.
