The unlikely movie Robert De Niro demanded to be made: “You’re going to do it”
In his incredible career, Robert De Niro has starred in some of the greatest films ever put to celluloid. The iconic star has given audiences some true classics from Goodfellas to The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver to Heat, and Raging Bull to The Untouchables. De Niro has also directed twice, meaning he was instrumental in bringing 1993’s A Bronx Tale and 2006’s The Good Shepherd from conception to screen. However, the man wasn’t exactly known for demanding movies to be made – apart from one time he called a co-star and told him, in no uncertain terms, that they were doing a film together. You won’t believe which one.
When director Jay Roach contacted Ben Stiller for a comedy he was putting together in the late 1990s, it was described to the actor as an “anxiety dream”. He knew he’d be perfect for that kind of film, as he excelled in playing uptight, neurotic guys on the edge of a breakdown at all times. His interest was piqued even further, though, when Roach told him who he was thinking of to play the cause of his anxiety in the film.
In 2010, Stiller told Get Frank, “I remember before we made the first one, Jay Roach, the director, said to me, ‘What do you think about Robert De Niro playing your father-in-law?’ and I said, ‘Great. Nice one. I’m sure that will happen.'”
The film, of course, was Meet the Parents, and Stiller was stunned when De Niro did indeed sign up to play the low-key terrifying patriarch Jack Byrnes. In fact, on their first day shooting together, Stiller was so intimidated by working with the iconic actor that he broke character on the first take. In 2020, Stiller admitted to Today, “I think it was the scene where we meet for the first time at the doorstep. I said something like, ‘Oh, this is a nice house’ or something, and I kind of looked up at the house, and Bob saw me look up, and he looked behind him like, ‘What am I looking at?'”
Stiller couldn’t help himself because seeing the notoriously stern-faced De Niro reacting to him was funny. He said, “I cracked up in his face. Just started laughing. And then started sweating because I’m like, ‘I can’t believe I’m breaking character on the first scene, the first line. He’s going to think I’m the worst.’ But then there was a moment where he smiled, and I then felt, ‘OK, it’s alright.'”
In the end, Stiller had a great time shooting the film with De Niro, and they became friendly on set—so friendly, in fact, that De Niro insisted he call him “Bob”. However, Stiller wasn’t sure about returning for a sequel, even when the movie made more than $330million worldwide and was beloved by audiences and critics. To his surprise, though, there was one person who was adamant that a sequel had to happen: De Niro.
In 2008, Stiller told First Showing that he was always iffy on the idea of making sequels and had studiously avoided them – until De Niro made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. He revealed, “I never did them until Meet the Parents, and that was because Robert De Niro called me up and said, ‘You’re going to do the sequel. You’re going to do it, okay?’ I was like, ‘Alright.'” He chuckled, “You really don’t want that call from De Niro.”
Ultimately, Stiller and De Niro made two sequels to Meet the Parents: 2004’s Meet the Fockers and 2010’s Little Fockers. In December 2024, it was announced that a fourth film is in the works, with both Stiller and De Niro slated to return for more mirthful mishaps.
Perhaps De Niro made another phone call demanding more Gaylord “Greg” Focker and Jack Byrnes antics?
