Robert De Niro Q&A

24 December 2010

Robert De Niro returns to the big screen this week as he takes on the role of Jack Byrnes for the third time in Meet the Parents: Little Fockers.

- This is the third time you’ve played Jack Byrnes. What was it like this time around?

Well you know, every time is different, but it’s the same characters. I think the hardest thing is to try to come up with a story that would hopefully hold the audience’s interest, and the dynamic between the characters within that family structure. I’d say basically we had a good time doing it.

- What’s happening with Jack Byrnes this time?

It’s kind of going back to the first film and that uneasy relationship between Jack and Greg.

They’ve developed a kind of trust but there’s always something lurking beneath the surface with those two and Jack thinks he saw something and that gets in the way, destroys the trust they had, and sends everything back to where they started out where they’re kind of at war with each other. It doesn’t take much to get those two to get it going again.

- Time has moved on and Greg and Pam have kids now, so Jack’s a proud grandfather.

Yeah, and that’s very much part of the story, too. Jack is very aware of his legacy and he wants that legacy to be carried on and he bestows that on to Greg - he anoints him as head of the family but Greg disappoints him, or he thinks he does, because there’s a big misunderstanding and there’s all these antics going on during the movie and then, finally, we get a resolution and it’s happily ever after.

- Do you enjoy playing him?

Yeah, I do. We have a lot of fun doing it, yeah.

- This is the third time you’ve played him. Do you empathise with him more and are you able to say to the screenwriters ‘he wouldn’t do that, but maybe he would do this?’

Yeah. You always empathise with your character and look at their point of view because no matter who they are or what they do, they feel that they are right, that they are justified.

And there may be times when they feel they are right but I, personally, would feel that it’s wrong but it’s the character.

And most of the time we are all in synch with what Jack would do, even if sometimes I feel ‘well, this is a little hokey..’ but I’ll do it anyway. I’ll try it because you never know until you actually do it if it’s going to work better than you think.

- Is it true that you came up with the idea of the polygraph test in the first movie?

Yes, I did. And in the second one it was the whole thing with the camper and the high tech room that Jack has that Greg visits. But in this one I can’t remember if I had something that was that significant.

- Both Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson said that if the vibe is right they like to improvise. Do you like doing that?

Yeah I do like doing that and we’ve done that in these movies especially and that’s good but it’s just that you just have to be careful that you don’t go too far. It’s like any improvisation you have to edit it but we did some of that and it’s fun.

And, of course, Ben and Owen play off each other and have a lot of fun doing it and I’ve done that to a degree with everybody.

- There’s a big fight scene in Little Fockers between Greg and Jack. What was that like?

It was fun, it took us about two weeks and it was all carefully choreographed, and set up really well - the beginning, middle and end and actually it was a lot of fun to do. .

- And do you approach a scene like that in the same way that you would in a more dramatic film? It doesn’t matter that it’s a comedy you still have to take it seriously?

Oh yeah, you have to because especially in that scene, everybody is taking themselves very seriously and that’s what makes it funny.

Some of the dialogue is very funny too - some of the things Jack says and Greg comes right back at him. We get really serious about it. And when you look at that from the outside it’s very funny.

- Do you think that the reason why these films work so well is that the comedy is built on a truth, like the awkwardness that can exist between two families?

I think that the key is that a lot of people can identify with the films and that family dynamic. Absolutely - and it all comes from that.

- You first worked with Harvey Keitel on Mean Streets back in the day - what was it like working with him again?

Harvey and I worked together on Falling In Love and that was maybe 26, 27 years ago and we haven’t done anything together since then until Little Fockers.

And it was good to work with Harvey again. It was great to have him with us and I’m so glad they wanted him in the film and it was a lot of fun to have him there.

- Jay Roach directed the first two movies and Paul Weitz took the helm for Little Fockers. He has to honour the other two films and at the same time bring his own ideas to the new one. How did he do?

Well Paul was himself and he has to put his own mark on the film. Not for ego reasons, just because he’s a different person and has different sensibilities as a filmmaker.

And so that was his task - he has to service the franchise and at the same time put his own identity on the film.

And it’s different in that way but he did a great job. I’m going to work with Paul on a movie called Suck City next Spring and that’s something that we wanted to do before he got involved in Little Fockers.

That was already in place before the idea to approach Paul to do Little Fockers came along. And I said to him ‘no matter what happens with this, if you do it or not, we’ll do our movie..’ Because I didn’t want to put that pressure on him. But obviously I’m glad he did Little Fockers.

- Is Suck City a comedy?

Not really, there are funny situations in it, but it’s not a comedy really, it’s kind of a dramedy, if you will.

- Whenever I talk to actors, they always tell me that comedy is hard to do, hard to get right. What’s your view on that?

Well, certain types of comedy are probably harder. I enjoy doing these films only because there are fewer restrictions in certain ways. In a straight drama you can’t do certain things, it won’t work, whereas in these kind of things, you can kind of try something, fool around.

It might seem kind of nutty but it actually could work, whereas in a drama obviously you don’t have the impulse to do that.

Whereas in a comedy like Little Fockers you might think ‘oh I’ll try this..’ A kind of quirky thing that might work character wise and it can be funny and quirky or eccentric.

- And these films have a fine balance between the broader comedy and the more subtle one-liners.

Yes, they do and I like that. And that comes down to good writing, which really helps.

- Do you remember comedies from when you were growing up that you liked?

I used to like The Three Stooges; I liked Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Laurel and Hardy were OK and everybody loved them but I was more into Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and The Three Stooges.

- Did you make a conscious decision to seek out comedy? You did Analyze This and that kind of marked your entry into the genre and before that you were closely associated with the more dramatic roles.

Yeah it did. Billy Crystal had this idea that we could do a comedy together and he had the script for Analyze This and said ‘I don’t know what you think about it’ And I said ‘OK, let me look at it’ And I did and I said ‘OK, let’s have a reading.’

There are many times when I like to have a reading, especially when you aren’t sure about the material. When you read it with other people you get a better idea of how the material will work, you can lift it off the page a little bit more.

And the reading was OK but then it was ‘how do we do this movie?’ I thought that maybe certain things about it should be played a little straighter as opposed to playing it for big laughs.

And then we had another reading with other, we found a director and we did it. I was always game for trying comedy.

And with Analyze This I thought it was fun to parody some of the things I did before in some ways. And it was a really good experience. I enjoyed it.

- Are you thinking of directing again?

I’ve always wanted to do another instalment of The Good Shepherd. I don’t know if I will but I’d love to and that’s always a possibility.

It’s a lot of work, getting up the money and putting all the parts in place. But it is a possibility.

- What do the new cast members in Little Fockers bring to the table?

Well, Laura Dern is a terrific actress. She’s great and perfect for this. I did Machete with Jessica (Alba) and I wasn’t sure about her for this and then she did a reading and she was terrific, she was great.

- And do you get much to do with Dustin and Barbara’s characters?

We do a little, yeah but probably not as much as we did before. I think they are in it in the right way and very much a part of the whole family dynamic.

- Presumably you’ve known Dustin for a long time?

I’ve known Dustin since I was doing The Last Tycoon (1976) and he was doing Marathon Man, when we were both at Paramount and we had dressing rooms near each other. We got to know each other a little bit then. He’s a very funny guy.

- Does the criteria you use to choose a project change over the years?

Not really, it’s always the same - the script and the director. Those are the two things that I look for. If the script is really good and it’s written by the director, that’s a good sign and that means you have a pretty good chance of the movie being like the script.

The other actors involved are important too, obviously. But I guess the script is the bottom line.

- Does your approach to the work change over the years?

Yeah, I feel that over the years you get to a place where you don’t have to be as anxious about it, you can relax more and let things happen and also, you have more spontaneity and fun with it and maybe you’ll get a better result.

- We talked about the comedy you liked when you were young. What films and actors sparked your interest in acting?

In those days I would go and see a double bill once a week. I loved the James Dean movies and I guess there were only three, and I liked (Marlon) Brando and Montgomery Clift - they were my favourite actors.

I remember Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer (directed by Joseph Makiewicz) and A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront - those are the films that made a big impression on me.

- Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Jessica Alba all said that they found it a little intimidating when they first worked with you but that you quickly put them at ease. Do you consciously do that?

You know, that stuff goes away pretty quickly. Because you’ve got to get down to the work and then it all gets back to normal pretty quickly. And that’s the way I like it. You just get on with the job.

- What comes next for you?

I’m doing a movie in Barcelona with a director named Rodrigo Cortes, and it’s called Red Lights, and I think Sigourney Weaver is in it too, and it’s a very good script that he wrote and is directing. It’s kind of a thriller.

- And I think you’ve got a couple in the can as well..

Right. I have The Dark Fields and The Killer Elite. They are smaller roles, somewhere between a cameo and a supporting role.

- Are you seeing good scripts?

Yeah, I mean the scripts that I see are good although there are a lot of bad scripts that I don’t read because I’m told ‘don’t waste your time..’

But once in a while I do and they are not so great. But it’s nice when you read a good, strong script like the Rodrigo Cortes script.

- Just to sum up, did you enjoy playing Jack Byrnes again?

Yeah I enjoyed it. If we did another one or two, I’m fine with that - I’d love to. Everybody has to get up to speed and want to do it and then it happens.

I like Jack because he’s fun to play and I like the other characters.

And it’s very satisfying when you come up with a character that everybody likes and with this film it was great because everyone was coming up with good ideas for the characters and the situations and that’s fun to do.

I think that people can recognise these characters because they are based on a truth and the story is based on real situations even when it gets a little out there. Jack is just very protective of his daughter and his family and everyone knows that feeling.

Meet The Parents: Little Fockers is out now.