Robert De Niro’s least favourite kind of director: “I try never to get myself in that situation”
Robert De Niro has been in the business long enough to know that directors are a tricky bunch of people, especially after having worked with some of the most notoriously difficult and demanding in Hollywood.
From his early collaborations with Martin Scorsese, leading to some of the most cinematically influential films of all time to his work with Bernardo Bertolucci Michael Mann and Sergio Leone, the actor has seen it all, from egotistical maniacs, creative disputes and panicked shoots. But throughout all the chaos, the one thing that has remained consistent is De Niro’s steely and unblinkered approach to his craft, never faltering in his fierce commitment and love of the medium.
However, despite his level of control and professionalism, actors keep their emotions very close to the surface, and De Niro has often found himself struggling with certain types of filmmakers throughout his illustrious career.
Some of the most renowned directors in cinema history are known for their particular tricks and trademarks, whether it be Stanley Kubrick’s use of slow cinema and sometimes torturously long shoots, David Fincher’s egregious number of takes that has led to disagreements with A-list stars like Jake Gyllenhaal, or Greta Gerwig’s heartwarming approach to on-set relationships in which everyone wears a name tag.
However, there are some directors who use borderline abusive methods in order to achieve their vision, whether it be Roman Polanski’s bullying of Faye Dunaway or David O Russell’s screaming tactics and unique ability to make everyone work while on the constant edge of tears. While this is something the director has been criticised for (although not enough given that his last film was shot three years ago), he continues to make movies and carry on the age-old Hollywood tradition of men behaving badly and being rewarded for it.
While many actors have spoken out against his behaviour, including George Clooney and Jennifer Lawrence, De Niro was surprisingly a fan of his improvisational and unpredictable working style, describing his preference for this over other methods he has come across.
When discussing Russell’s approach, De Niro said, “David was something I could understand. But there’s a problem if you have a director who gives you things that are just a little goofy and you can’t relate to them, and you can’t connect on any level. I try never to get myself in that situation”.
Russell might be extreme in his methods and lacks consistency when deciding on a definitive tone for a scene, but at least this offers some form of freedom to his actors, whereas De Niro is less keen on directors who make suggestions that he cannot relate to. This understandably puts you in a tricky position as you try to relate to their vision but struggle to realise it in a way that feels authentic to you when you can’t understand their instincts. While screaming and shouting is never the way to inspire your actors, at the very least, Russell’s live-wire nature adds an element of surprise to each shoot and releases the pressure from people like De Niro to try one approach.
