Robert De Niro Tells Graduating NYU Arts Students How Difficult Their Career Lives Will Be

Robert Niro gave a quite inspiring speech to graduating New York University students, even though he told them that they are “f---.” The Tisch School of the Arts students looked on as the actor claimed that their career choices might have put them in a difficult position, but that does not mean they would not be okay.

E Online reported that De Niro got real with NYU Art students on their graduation and told them their passion might have landed them through a “lifetime of rejection” and they would probably not “get straight A’s” again in real life, but they should never doubt what they can do and achieve. Addressing the mass of students assembled at Madison Square Garden for the ceremony, De Niro said that the graduating students probably did not choose the arts because it is the commonsensical thing to do. Instead, they must have discovered a talent and formed an ambition around that talent. They have realised their “passion,” and they could not fight it. He said that when it comes to the field of arts, common sense can take a back seat to passion, so the graduating students are not just “following their dreams,” they are actually “reaching their destiny.”

This does not mean that they got it all made. Instead, De Niro claimed that the students must be “f---.” Instead of lamenting over the fact, the actor said the good news is that being in that position is not a “bad place to start.” The path would certainly not be easy for the graduates, but it would always be clear, as long as they keep on working. De Niro also asked the students to give themselves a pat in the back for graduating from Tisch, which is no small feat.

The actor even gave the students some tips on how to handle rejection. He joked that Valium and Vicodin may work to ease the pain of the constant rejection, but he added that the graduates should just embrace the pain or else there is nothing to talk about. After all, arts rely on feelings. He added some of his own experiences to advise the students on how to deal with rejection. "Rejection might sting, but my feeling is that often, it has very little to do with you," De Niro shared. "When you're auditioning or pitching, the director or producer or investor may have someone different in mind, that's just how it is,” he added. He shared his rejection over the Martin Luther King part in “Selma” even though he felt like he could do the role well to illustrate that he was rejected not because he was not good, but because the director could envision someone else.

De Niro is a renowned actor, but also a well-respected businessman. His current business projects include opening a chain of Nobu hotels in Asia. The two-time Academy Award winner launched the first one in the Philippines and launched another soon after in Kuala Lumpur.

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