Hollywood icon Robert De Niro has got social media abuzz by revealing he has become a dad again, at age 79, while talking about his upcoming comedy film About My Father to ET Canada. Setting the record straight that he has seven children – “I just had a baby,” he confessed — De Niro said he’s often been a “stern” parent to his kids. On screen, though, he has been both a stern and an indulgent dad. As De Niro looks forward to doing nappy time all over again, we look at the films where he plays a father with a flourish.
Meet The Parents (2000)
In Jay Roach’s comedy film, De Niro is an uptight dad, Jack Byrnes, who is unreasonably suspicious and disapproving of the man his daughter introduces to the family as her boyfriend. A retired CIA operative specialised in interrogating double agents, Byrnes uses his field knowledge on the unsuspecting man, played by Ben Stiller, and goes to extreme lengths to discredit him and prove that he’s not the right guy for his daughter. De Niro did the grumpiness to perfection, giving us a nightmare of a dad. He reprised the role in the 2004 sequel Meet The Fockers.
Watch it on: Amazon Prime Video Rental
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
David O. Russell’s 2012 romantic comedy presents De Niro as Patrizio Sr., an ageing patriarch who roots for his son Pat (Bradley Cooper), a former teacher and recent divorcee grappling with bipolar disorder. Patrizio Sr. is also involved in illegal betting in the hopes of raising enough money to open his restaurant. As a dad who watches with concern his son taking tentative steps towards a normal life with Jennifer Lawrence’s Tiffany, De Niro delivered a performance that is sometimes measured and sometimes chaotic, earning him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
Watch it on: Netflix
The Big Wedding (2013)
As Don Griffin in Justin Zackham’s 2013 comedy film The Big Wedding, De Niro plays a crazy-maker dad and husband the way only he can. A twist of circumstances leads Don to pretend to be in a happy marriage with his ex-wife Ellie (Diane Keaton) for the sake of his adopted son who’s going to be married. While in reality, Don is with Ellie’s once-upon-a-time best friend Bebe (Susan Sarandon). Whatever be his situation with the two feuding women, Don is a fun and sensitive dad to his three adult kids (played by Katherine Heigl, Topher Grace and Ben Barnes), and that’s the part of him that we love the most.
Watch it on: Amazon Prime Video
The Irishman (2019)
In Martin Scorsese’s gangster drama The Irishman, De Niro portrays real-life gangster Frank Sheeran, who shared a close bond with his daughter Peggy (Anna Paquin). Though he is a loving father, Peggy snaps all ties with him after learning about his involvement in the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance. Sheeran, on his part, chooses his darker side and loses his family along the way.
Watch it on: Netflix
About My Father (to release on May 26)
Directed by Laura Terruso from a screenplay by Sebastian Maniscalco and Austen Earl, About My Father is loosely based on stand-up comedian-turned-actor Sebastian Maniscalco’s relationship with his father. De Niro plays Sebastian’s Italian immigrant father Salvo Maniscalco, who goes to the summer house of Sebastian’s would-be American in-laws to celebrate the 4th of July weekend in a get-to-know-each-other exercise, and one can safely expect all hell to break loose. Sebastian Maniscalco plays himself in the film.
