Death of Robert De Niro's grandson could see the 'iceman crack' as he endures 'rollercoaster year & high-stakes project' | The Sun
THE tragic death of Robert De Niro’s grandson has been the bitterest blow in a rollercoaster year which is threatening to crack the actor’s iceman persona, according to a Hollywood pal.
The Oscar-winning star, 79, is grieving the death of his grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez at the age of just 19.
Robert De Niro said in a statement that he has been left “deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson”.
It came after his daughter Drena De Niro broke the devastating news of her son’s passing on social media.
A source who has worked with De Niro extensively in the last two years explained how 2023 has been a year of intense highs and lows for the movie legend.
The insider said: "Knowing De Niro is knowing a guy who isn't affected much by the ups and downs of life.
“His attitude is that emotions are for the screen, and in real life he goes out of his way to present an icy-calm, rock-steady demeanor.
“He's seen a lot and been through a lot.
“He doesn't have anything to prove to anybody at this point, and he can still snap his finger and get a movie made, which is the definition of power in Hollywood.
“But he has had an absolutely crazy 2023.
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“Having a new baby, dealing with the ridiculous details that are coming out of his legal battle with his former assistant, and now facing the death of his grandson.
“If the iceman is ever going to crack, that's going to happen now, because what he's been facing is a perfect storm and the year is barely half over.”
De Niro welcomed daughter Gia Virginia with girlfriend Tiffany Chen in April, making him a father for the seventh time.
The Goodfellas actor and martial arts professional Chen, 37, got together following his split from second wife Grace Hightower.
He has also been involved in a bitter legal battle with his former assistant Graham Chase Robinson.
The pair filed lawsuits against each other in 2019, with De Niro striking first to demand $6 million over claims that Robinson abused company credit cards while working for his Canal Productions company.
Robinson responded with her own $12 million lawsuit in federal court alleging she had been subjected to gender discrimination and humiliation during the 11 years she worked for De Niro’s Canal Productions.
Court filings recently revealed that Robinson was also involved in an alleged feud with Chen, who is said to have accused her of being in love with De Niro.
The dueling cases are due to go to trial in front of a Manhattan jury in October.
According to The U.S. Sun’s source, who worked with De Niro on his recent Martin Scorsese-directed movie Killers of the Flower Moon, the star has also had a very up-and-down year professionally.
In the late spring, De Niro's latest goofy, Italian-American-flavored comedy About My Father belly-flopped at the box office and tanked with critics.
At the same time, the star’s role as the villain in Killers of the Flower Moon sparked serious Oscar buzz after the movie premiered at the Cannes film festival in May.
The insider said: "On top of everything going on in his personal life, De Niro is expected to be in the Oscar mix this year for ‘Killers'.
“That entire project has been a high-stakes pressure cooker for Robert for going on four years now – he's put a lot into this thing.
“But given what's happened with his grandson, nobody is really expecting him to go hat-in-hand to beg for Oscar votes this fall.
“He's not the campaigning type and he has so much going on at home right now that it's completely understandable if he wants to sit out the horserace this year.
“He's always been fine with letting the work speak for itself. He's totally justified for taking family time right now, as much as he wants.”
The source said that the one exception De Niro ever made to his decision not to express his emotions in public was his strident anti-Donald Trump stance.
But given the turbulence in his private life, there are now doubts that he will be as openly involved in the 2024 presidential campaign.
The insider said: "De Niro's rule is that emotions are for the movies, not for real-life public appearances, but he broke that rule to speak out against Trump and he felt like he made a real impact when he did.
“But he's been through so much personally since the last election that you have to wonder how much gas he has left in the tank.
“He loves working and he loves running his businesses, but so much of what's happened the last several months has pulled him away from that, and out of his comfort zone.
“Normally, when somebody is that bottled up, something has to give. You're going to have to start seeing cracks in the ‘iceman' persona he puts across.”
The source added that, despite already boasting a fortune estimated at over $500 million, De Niro does not have much in the way of an exit strategy for his movie career.
Unlike peers like Daniel Day-Lewis and Gene Hackman, who have withdrawn from filmmaking and the public eye, De Niro seems on course to continue with his work.
"The problem is, he still loves being famous, getting paid a fortune, and seeing these movies be hits around the world,” the insider said.
“'Retirement' as a concept doesn't come up with De Niro.
“The tacit understanding among the people he works with is that he's going to keep at it until he physically can't anymore.
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“He gets something out of working with young filmmakers and being around younger actors that he won't be able to tap into if he just stopped working or even if he just focused on producing and his other side businesses.
“Being on camera, being 'the guy' in a movie, is still incredibly central to his life and even in the face of tragedy or embarrassment, it's what he's going to lean into. That's not stopping anytime soon."
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