Illeana Douglas on Robert De Niro and How ‘Art’ Doesn’t ‘Exist’ in Hollywood Anymore

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On his podcast, author Bret Easton Ellis had an extensive interview with Illeana Douglas. Douglas has had an impressive acting career, appearing in numerous classic films alongside acting royalty. That royalty includes Robert De Niro — Cape Fear, Goodfellas, and Guilty by Suspicion are three films they appeared in together.

During his conversation with Douglas, Easton Ellis brought up the acting legend. “They talk about De Niro walking through roles, just collecting the money, and I do think that’s true,” he said. “I mean, I’ve heard from financiers that if you have the money De Niro will be in anything you have, and that he seems to just have checked out.”

Now, Easton Ellis wasn’t completely critical of DeNiro’s post-Goodfellas career, bringing up two recent examples of great DeNiro performances:Silver Lining Playbook and The Intern. So yes, De Niro still has his fastball at age 72. That being said, when De Niro does movies like Dirty Grandpa, one can be forgiven for wondering if the man who starred in Raging Bull and The Deer Hunter has “given up.”

Douglas weighed in, making sure to say she considered herself an “outsider” on this matter. “The environment that was created to play and to make a work of art, and that no longer exists,” Douglas lamented. “Where, on the set of Cape Fear, De Niro caught somebody looking at their watch and the person is yelled at, because it was like, ‘We are making art.’”

Douglas basically said don’t look at De Niro, look at the people who are making the film around him. “It must be very challenging to be in an environment where it’s like, ‘Yeah we have an hour, let’s get this shot, let’s get this shot’, and so if nobody else cares, why should you care?” she asked.

Douglas still believes De Niro is capable of greatness. “I still believe it’s there, I still believe it’s in all of these great actors, but you have to create the environment for them and appreciate them,” she said.

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