Robert DeNiro, 73, is one of the busiest actors in showbiz, and he’s not slowing down.
In the past 10 years, DeNiro has starred in 30 films, 11 of which have been comedies and one animated movie. So how does the Academy Award winner decide which roles to take? His answer is simple.
“Well part of it is, I’m just happy that I’m being asked to do something,” he told CNN at the premiere of “Hands of Stone.” “And I’ll say, ‘let me decide’ and I do it.”
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Since starring in “Meet The Parents” in 2001, he’s voiced a great white shark in the animated kids film, “Shark Tale,” played an intern working for Anne Hathaway in 2015’s “The Intern” and most recently, Zac Efron’s grandfather in the raunchy 2016 comedy, “Bad Grandpa.”
But DeNiro took on a more serious role for his upcoming boxing drama, “Hands of Stone” in which he plays Ray Arcel, the trainer of Panamanian boxer, Roberto Duran. Harvey Weinstein said when he first saw the film at The Sundance Film Festival, he knew The Weinstein Company needed to get on board.
“I love the pureness of the sport and the idea of working with Bob DeNiro on something with boxing, he’s my neighbor in Tribeca, we’ve worked together for 25 years,” said Weinstein, “so I couldn’t miss this opportunity.”
“Hands of Stone” releases in theaters Aug. 26.