From thoughts on acting and success to lessons about failure and resilience, De Niro’s quotes carry timeless wisdom. They remind us not only why he is a cinematic legend but also offer inspiration and perspective that remain relevant across generations. Here are 20 Robert De Niro quotes that still ring true today.
1. “Good directors can bring certain things out of you, with their intensity or gentleness or sensitivity or understanding. They can make an actor feel he can do no wrong.”
2. “I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, ‘There’s no place like New York. It’s the most exciting city in the world now.”
3. “I’ve never been one of those actors who has touted myself as a fascinating human being. I had to decide early on whether I was going to be an actor or a personality.”
4. “Time goes on. So whatever you’re going to do, do it now. Don’t wait.”
5. “It’s important to indicate. People don’t try to show their feelings; they try to hide them.”
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6. “You’ll have time to rest when you’re dead.”
7. “There’s nothing more ironic or contradictory than life itself.”
8. “Some people say that drama is easy, and comedy is hard. Not true. I’ve been making comedies for the last couple of years, and it’s nice. When you make a drama, you spend all day beating a guy to death with a hammer, or what have you.”
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9. “There is a certain combination of anarchy and discipline in the way I work.”
10. “I only go to Los Angeles when I am paid for it.”
11. “One of the things about acting is it allows you to live other people’s lives without having to pay the price.”
12. “I’m hoping that if things work out with digital technology, they can finally make us look younger and I can go on for another 40 years.”
13. “I think it’s important to have had at least a few years of obscurity, where people treat you like everybody else.”
14. “Sometimes, if you have financial restraints, it’s a benefit. It forces you to come up with a more creative way.”
15. “The hardest thing about being famous is that people are always nice to you.”
16. “Even gangsters have morals-they have ethics, they have a code, and you know, when you give somebody your word that’s all you have is your word, especially in that world.”
17. “I don’t like to watch my own movies. I fall asleep in my own movies.”
18. “If you’re an actor, always be true to your character. If you are not an actor, have character and always be true to yourself.”
19. “The talent is in the choices.”
20. “I don’t play bad guys. I play people who make choices that are different from other people’s.”
Want to read some more celebrity quotes?
Take a look at 20 Buster Keaton Quotes That Pay Homage to Varying Acts of Comedic Genius, or check out 20 Robin Williams Quotes That Reveal the Man Behind the Laughter. Finally, if you want to see quotes from the one and only Ozzy Osborne, check out 25 Ozzy Osborne Quotes To Remember Him By.
