Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1251534
S AG Life Achievement honoree Robert De Niro sat down with SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris pre-pandemic in February at De Niro's Tribeca Grill restaurant in New York City. The two discussed the changing industry, why you should say "yes" as an actor, and his recent collaboration with Netflix and Martin Scorsese on The Irishman. Here are some of the highlights. Gabrielle Carteris: Talk to me about your connection with Netflix. Why Netflix? Robert De Niro: Well, Netflix came along. They were the ones that all of a sudden, we found ourselves doing a project with, and they were great. Yes, there were certain things in the streaming part of it and all. But as far as I was concerned [and] Marty [Scorsese] was concerned, they're doing a movie [and] giving us the money to do it in a way that we want to do it. Things change. You have no control over the way things go. We don't know what's going to happen. I mean, we see it going in that direction, more films on home screens. Though theaters, I love. That's what I was raised on. But at the same time, there are certain things you have no control over how they will morph into something. So you have to ride with it. GC: I want to talk a little bit about 9/11, the idea that you're one of the founders of the memorial for 9/11. Where were you? RD: I was in Midtown. I was about to fly to L.A. when that happened. I had a noon flight. I came down here. By then, they had barricades up on Canal Street and so on. I lived like a block from here. I got through and went in, and I watched. The buildings, both had been hit by that point. I couldn't believe it; looking out my windows, I see the South Tower start to come down. I had to look to my TV in the corner to confirm what I saw with my own eyes. Then, a little later, the second one was ... How can you even? I ran into somebody … a day or two later, [and] they were telling me how they saw bodies coming down. I had seen it too … Nothing seemed important then. I was trying to do The Good Shepherd [but] it just seemed like it wasn't important. GC: You were directing at the time? RD: I was getting it ready. I forget what stage I was at. But it just seemed not important at that point. I didn't know if it would ever be important after that. Then, slowly, after a few years ... It's like waking up from a nightmare and you've got to get up. You got to get out of bed, and you got to walk, and you got to take care of yourself, and you just got to move. That's how I felt. SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris interviews Robert De Niro. Actor to Actor with Robert De Niro 63 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2020 | sagaftra.org