Robert de Niro has said that the rise of CGI means his career could be “extended another 30 years.”
The veteran actor made the comments at the London Film Festival yesterday (October 14) while he was promoting his latest movie, The Irishman. In the film, special effects are used to digitally de-age the actors.
When questioned how he felt when seeing a digitally enhanced younger version of himself, de Niro said: “I always joke that my career will be extended another 30 years.”
However, de Niro was sceptical about its use in the future and was wary about how it might evolve. He said the process made him “think about copyright” and who becomes in charge of “likeness” after death.
He added: “They even have that now in some ways, using famous actors from years ago in commercials and they represent what that product is.
“I am just happy we are at the beginning stages of it being explored and God knows where we will go and what excited me about it was Pablo [Helman, the visual effects supervisor] was doing this thing and wanted to make it state of the art, the best it could be.”
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In a four star review of The Irishman, NME’s Greg Wetherall said: the film is “a thrilling gangster tale is perfect final fling for cinema’s great pals.”
He added: “If this is to be Pesci, De Niro and Scorsese’s final fling together, then they couldn’t wish to end on a better note. The director’s 26th feature film is a meditative and classy offering. Hollywood’s old cronies are still the real deal – magnetic, riveting and unique. Let’s hope we see them again soon. “