Robert De Niro names the best actor of his generation: “With the possible exception of me”
Hollywood is the ultimate embodiment of the American Dream. It’s a world that the average person feels far-removed from, but many strive to get closer to – an elusive industry that teases a lifestyle of glamour and wealth, fame and excess. Yet, like the American Dream, Hollywood is full of false promises and corruption, which is why films like Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard deconstruct this fantasy, depicting a landscape where competition and failure are everywhere, and deception and jealousy can cause tragedy.
Many people strive to win big in Hollywood, but like the lottery, few people actually find themselves on the receiving end of true success. Acting is a tough job, and to become one of the greats, you need a mixture of raw talent and luck on your side, and not everyone is that fortunate.
There have been certain moments in Hollywood history, however, when it has been slightly easier for stars to rise to prominence. The late 1960s saw the American film industry change rapidly with the abandonment of the Hays Code and the rise of television, which put cinema in a precarious place. Studios subsequently gave opportunities to a group of younger, more ambitious filmmakers who were inspired by European cinema and arthouse movies, resulting in a new era for Hollywood.
With New Hollywood came new stars, and Robert De Niro is perhaps one of the most iconic. He began acting in the mid-1960s, but it was his role in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets that allowed him to gain widespread acclaim, which was then followed by an Oscar-winning performance in The Godfather Part II as a young Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando in the first film.
Alongside De Niro, other actors emerged as key figures of the New Hollywood era, like Robert Duvall and Harvey Keitel, but it was Al Pacino who quickly became a major leading man, rivalling De Niro as the biggest new star of the 1970s. The pair appeared in The Godfather Part II together, and their friendship has since continued for decades, leading them to other collaborations like Heat and The Irishman.
It’s no surprise, then, that De Niro thinks Pacino is one of the greatest actors of his generation, even if he has been somewhat of a (playful) rival throughout his career. De Niro once said (via a 2005 American Cinematheque tribute), “Al, over the years we’ve taken roles from one another. People have tried to compare us to one another, to pit us against each other and to tear us apart personally. I’ve never seen the comparison, frankly. I’m clearly much taller, more the leading-man type. Honestly, you just may be the finest actor of our generation. With the possible exception of me, frankly.”
So, in an industry where competition and comparison threatens to suck the joy and excitement out of the art form, De Niro and Pacino have managed to avoid succumbing to these pressures. Their friendship has endured for years, and it seems as though they have a close bond that has allowed each of them to prosper, even if they have swiped roles from one another.
