Talk about Robert De Niro (1943) is to talk about one of the most prolific and versatile actors of the last forty years. Born in New York, De Niro has been the star of unforgettable films, such as Taxi Driver (1976), The Godfather II (1974) or Raging Bull (1980).
His career has been marked by his peculiar association with Martin Scorsese. This director, along with Brian De Palma, have positively marked his acting career.
Known for his legendary interpretations of the most diverse characters, De Niro is, perhaps, one of the actors with the most acclaimed career of our time
In this article we are going to learn about the best quotes by Robert De Niro, taken from many of his films but also from interviews in which he shows his most human side.
1. We all pay a price for the actions we have taken in the past, but when has it been enough? (Condemned)
The price is usually a difficult price to beat. A mortgage for life.
2. The game must always be hunted with a single bullet. Doing it with two is a bummer. I always tell everyone, but no one listens to me. (The hunter)
A metaphor that we can apply to any facet of life, not just hunting.
3. A guy in my position must always have a lot of cash on hand, smeared cops and thugs, who don’t accept checks. (Casino)
The Law of the Street, taken from one of his highest-grossing films.
4. In a casino the first rule is to make them play endlessly and keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more money they lose, and in the end we keep it all. (Casino)
About the predatory mentality of betting room owners.
5. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Otherwise, you are just part of the landscape. (Ronin)
A sentence that can be applied to different spheres of business, criminal and police life.
6. What were we going to paint in the middle of a desert? The only reason is money. That’s the end result of all the neon lights and travel agency deals, all the champagne, all the free hotel suites, all the tarts and alcohol. Everything is organized just so that we can take your money. We are the only ones who win, the players have no chance. (Casino)
Another reflection on casinos and the way in which customers are only prey to an (almost) perfect system to empty their pockets.
7. The desert seemed like a disturbing place to me, you couldn’t tell who was buried there. (Casino)
Certainly, the miles and miles of sand are a perfect hiding place for any corpse that needs to be hidden.
8. Lawyer? Lawyer? Are you there? Come out, little mouse, I want to see your tail… (Cape Fear)
A famous phrase by Robert De Niro in his role as Max Cady, a psychopathic criminal who pursues the lawyer who left him stranded in a trial that cost him a prison sentence.
9. I am like God and God is like me, I am as big as God, he is the same size as me, he is not above me, nor am I below him… (Cape Fear)
From the same film as the previous sentence, in this case Max Cady shows off his delusion of grandeur.
10. I have an old-fashioned mind regarding honor: ‘an eye for an eye’ and things like that. (The heart of the angel)
Honor or resentment? In any case, another movie in which Robert De Niro plays a bad guy.
11. There are three ways of doing things: right, wrong and mine. (Casino)
About the particular ethics of betting houses.
12. Give this bull a stage where he can demonstrate his bravery, because although fighting is my thing, I would rather know how to recite… This is a show. (Wild bull)
Playing a stubborn and brave boxer.
13. The difference between me and the preacher is that the preacher works for God… and I am God. (Men of Honor)
Another character characterized by his grandiloquence and narcissistic spirit.
14. I would like to feel you vibrate when you hear me recite Shakespeare. A horse, my kingdom for a horse, I haven’t won a bet in six months. (Wild bull)
Boxer and poet: two sides of the same coin?
15. Don’t tie yourself to anything you can’t put down in less than 30 seconds when the cops are hot on your heels. (Heat)
One of the laws of criminal gangs.
16. If there is doubt, there is no doubt. (Heat)
A curious phrase from Robert De Niro that can motivate us to take action.
17. There is no one else here… Are you talking to me? (Taxi Driver)
In front of the mirror, the deranged taxi driver was having this hypothetical conversation.
18. Loneliness has always followed me. Everywhere. In bars and in cars, streets, stores… everywhere. I have no escape. I am God’s lonely man. (Taxi Driver)
A gray taxi driver reflecting on his existence before taking action.
19. By the way… if talking to you I turn into a faggot, I will kill you. (A dangerous therapy)
An ironic phrase in his role as a patient recently released from prison.
20. They call it 6 pesetas because it is too hard. (A dangerous therapy)
From the same film as the previous one, in this case it ironizes an excessively boastful guy.
21. Look at the trunk of this car, it’s huge, it can fit 2 or 3 corpses. (A dangerous therapy)
Always faithful to black humor.
20. You go further with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone. (The Untouchables by Elliot Ness)
Perhaps Robert De Niro’s phrase that best defines his acting career: a mixture of black humor and criminal spirit.
23. People of all classes go out at night. Whores, thugs, thieves, drug dealers… Someday a rain will come that will clean the streets of this filth. (Taxi Driver)
A final reflection on the decline of New York.
24. According to a recent survey, women say they feel more comfortable undressing in front of men than in front of women. They say they become too critical; while we men, of course, simply become grateful.
Taken from a recent interview, she talks about women’s fear of being judged by other women.
25. It is said that there is not enough religion for people to love each other, but there is enough for them to hate each other. (The heart of the angel)
Another phrase from De Niro that helps us reflect on our beliefs.
