Robert De Niro discusses gay father’s struggle with sexuality
By Will Stroude
Robert De Niro has revealed that his father, Robert De Niro Sr, was gay – and struggled with his sexuality during his lifetime.
The two-time Oscar-winner discussed his late father’s sexuality ahead of the release of Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro Sr, a documentary focusing on the life of his late father, an expressionist painter and sculptor, who divorced his mother when the actor was three years old.
Asked by OUT magazine whether he thought his father, who died in 1993, was conflicted about his sexuality, De Niro said: “Yeah, he probably was, being from that generation, especially from a small town upstate. I was not aware, much, of it. I wish we had spoken about it much more.
“My mother didn’t want to talk about things in general, and you’re not interested when you’re a certain age,” he added.
“Again, for my kids, I want them to stop and take a moment and realise that you sometimes have to do things now instead of later, because later may be 20 years from now — and that’s too late.”
Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro Sr premieres on June 9 on US premium cable network HBO. You can watch the trailer below: