De Niro Lands His First Regular TV Gig, Might Have a Career in this Business

I'm not Robert De Niro's agent (please try to contain your surprise), but as far as I'm concerned, David O. Russell can cast him in whatever he wants.  Over the years, I've noticed that there are actually two De Niros.  There's the one who just wants to have fun and/or make money, and then there is the one who actually gives a crap.  Since the 90s, we've seen less and less of the latter.  Until recently, I'd just assumed De Niro had gone the way of Pacino or Walken and settled for being a parody that pays well.  That is, until he started working with director David O. Russell, which is why its so exciting to hear that he will be making a new Amazon TV series with Russell and Julianne Moore.

De Niro's performance as Pat Solitano Sr. in Silver Linings Playbook is really what made me realize the old De Niro still existed.  As a supporting part, Pat Sr. is only in the film for about fifteen or twenty minutes, but De Niro breathes an intangible layer of reality into an already well-written character.  As an obsessive character, he could have so easily been annoying or trying for the audience, but De Niro makes you feel the character's anxieties like they are your own.  I felt electrified watching the old master metaphorically strap on his gloves and fight again, and I think De Niro must've felt energized as well, because not since Scorsese has he worked so many times with the same director.    

I don't mean to sound overly dramatic.  Its not like De Niro drowns puppies or anything truly awful.  I don't even blame him for wanting to take it easy as he gets older, just like I can't blame Adam Sandler for wanting to film exotic vacations with his friends and call them movies.  That doesn't mean I enjoy watching it, though.  I hate seeing the slow-motion crash most form-defining artists go through as they age and lose their edge.  Something about creative and artistic fields requires a hunger within the artist, a drive to prove something.  When you've attained the level of success De Niro has, there is often nothing left to prove.  But seeing that spark, seeing the fight in his eyes that Russell was able to help bring out, makes this new Amazon series something to keep an eye on.