Robert de niro family biography interview

Robert De Niro is not looking in the rearview mirror because he has his eyes fixed on the road ahead. 

“As things come, you don’t expect them,” he says in the new issue of PEOPLE.

“You got to be ready. I’m ready to take whatever life gives me.” 

That philosophy has sustained his storied career that includes two Oscar wins (for The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull), 10 collaborations with friend and director Martin Scorsese and dozens of hit films that showcase his dramatic and comedic range, from Goodfellas to Meet the Parents.

Elliot de niro

(He says fans still approach him to quote his famous taunt to Ben Stiller, “I will bring you down, baby. I will bring you down to Chinatown.”)

At 80, De Niro has no desire to slow down any time soon. In his PEOPLE interview, he talks about the future, particularly his desire to continue working — “I enjoy it,” he says —