Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese have grown into one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actor-director collaborations. The duo has worked together 11 times in their career. However, there was almost a 12th as De Niro Scorsese wanted to direct analyze that.
Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese have grown into one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actor-director collaborations. The duo has worked together 11 times in their career. However, there was almost a 12th as De Niro Scorsese wanted to direct analyze that.
Why did Robert De Niro want Martin Scorsese to analyze this directly?
While promoting their latest movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, De Niro and Scorsese spoke to them meeting about their working relationship, which famously began with 1973’s “Mean Streets.” After De Niro and Scorsese teamed up for Casino in 1995, they went their separate ways but always made it a point to stay in touch. De Niro asked Scorsese to direct mafia comedy Analyze This. However, Scorsese turned it down because it was too similar to one of their previous collaborations.
“We always checked that and everything else. He wanted me to do “Analyze This,” and I said, “We already did that.” “It was Goodfellas,” Scorsese explained.
These check-ins between filmmaker and actor continued into the 2000s. Scorsese brought up De Niro Gangs of New York and The Departed, both of which he denied. However, De Niro and Scorsese found another crime film to reunite for: The Irishman. Scorsese cites De Niro’s similar background as the reason their collaboration has lasted 50 years.
“We’ve always talked about it because he’s the only one who knows where I came from and who I am from when we were 15 or 16 years old,” Scorsese said. “He knows this part of New York. It was all instinct between us and his courage and humility when it came to how he would say, “If a scene happens on my back, that’s fine, but if it happens better on the other person’s face, play them.”
Well, that was a period of time,” Scorsese continued. “Does he still think like that ten years later? Turns out he did! But is he old Bob? No. You need to see where they are.”
Next up are De Niro and Scorsese in Killers of the Flower Moon, which premieres May 20 at the Cannes Film Festival and hits theaters October 20.