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 The two-time Academy Award winner and star of Oscar-nominated
mob film "The Irishman" received the annual Screen Actors Guild
(SAG) tribute celebrating a 50-year career in films ranging from
dramas like "The Deer Hunter," "Raging Bull" and "The Godfather:
Part II" to comedies such as "Meet the Parents" and "Silver
Linings Playbook."
Stepping onto the stage to a rousing standing ovation and cheers
at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday evening, De Niro took another
swipe at Trump, without mentioning him by name, as the president
faces a Senate trial this week on impeachment charges of abuse
of power and obstruction of Congress.
"There’s right, and there’s wrong and there's common sense, and
there’s abuse of power, and as a citizen I have as much right as
anyone else ... to voice my opinion," the actor said. "And if I
have a bigger voice because of my situation, I’m going to use it
whenever I see a blatant abuse of power. And that’s all I’m
going say about that tonight."
He then went on to thank his "comrades in arms" for bestowing
the life achievement honor, presented by the SAG-AFTRA (American
Federation of Television and Radio Actors) union.
A versatile actor with more than 100 films to his credit, De
Niro, 76, also is co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival in New
York City, established to help revitalize lower Manhattan after
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that reduced the World Trade Center
to ruins.
Although known for his often-taciturn demeanor in public
appearances while strictly guarding his private life, De Niro
has emerged as one of Trump's most vocal critics outside of
political circles.
In 2018, he launched an expletive-laden attack on Trump on live
television as a presenter on stage of the Tony Awards for
Broadway theater. Trump responded on Twitter by calling De Niro
"a very low-key individual."
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A frequent collaborator with director Martin Scorsese, De Niro built
his career with haunting portrayals of loners and tough guys - a
deranged ex-convict in "Cape Fear," a disturbed vigilante in "Taxi
Driver," a disillusioned Vietnam War veteran in "Deer Hunter," a
ruthless gangster in "Goodfellas."
A method actor and perfectionist who trained at the Stella Adler
Conservatory and the American Workshop and with Lee Strasberg, De
Niro earned a reputation for intense preparation.
He learned to speak a Sicilian dialect to play the young mobster
Vito Corleone in "The Godfather: Part II," a role that earned him
his first Oscar in 1975. And he famously gained 60 pounds (27 kilos)
for his second Oscar-winning performance as boxing great Jake
LaMotta in 1980's "Raging Bull."
He also found success playing his hard-bitten screen image for
laughs, in such comedic roles as an insecure mob boss in "Analyze
This" and a retired CIA operative in "Meet the Fockers."
Nevertheless, De Niro has been largely overlooked this awards season
for his acting work as hitman Frank Sheeran in "The Irishman,"
failing to garner nominations as a performer in the Golden Globes,
Oscars, or SAG contests. He did, however, share an Academy Award
nomination in this year's best picture race as one of four named
producers of "The Irishman."
De Niro joins previous SAG lifetime recipients including Alan Alda,
Elizabeth Taylor, Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood and Debbie
Reynolds.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Steve Gorman and Nick
Zieminski)
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