Robert De Niro won rave reviews for his portrayal of talk show host Murray Franklin in “Joker”, but had it not been for the advice of a former co-star he may never have taken the role.
In a new interview with People, the “Irishman” Oscar nominee says it was Bradley Cooper (his co-star in in “Silver Linings Playbook”, “Joy”, “Limitless” and “American Hustle”) who convinced him to meet with “Joker” director Todd Phillips.
“I met Todd Phillips and I liked him. I thought, ‘This will be an interesting project,'” De Niro tells People. “Bradley was one of the producers and he told me to do it.”
De Niro reveals that he’s impressed by Cooper’s abilities both in front of and behind the camera, particularly as a producer.
“He’s really terrific,” says De Niro of Cooper. “What he did with ‘A Star Is Born’, the way he worked on it quietly by himself, put it together, found the right actors, the right people…”
Adds De Niro: “When you know what you want to do, that’s a great thing, and you know it’ll be special.”
