The two-time Academy Award winner and high school dropout gave one of the more memorable commencement speeches delivered by a celebrity this year, imparting his sage wisdom with a smile on Friday to the graduating class of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
“You discovered a talent, developed an ambition and recognized your passion,” De Niro addressed the masses assembled at Madison Square Garden for the ceremony. “When you feel that, you can’t fight it—you just go with it. When it comes to the arts, passion should always trump common sense. You aren’t just following dreams, you’re reaching for your destiny.”
“You’re an artist—yeah, you’re f–ked,” he informed the kids. “The good news is, that’s not a bad place to start.”
And De Niro had some very simple advice for the aspiring actors, musicians, writers, artists, et al.
“Now that you’ve made your choice—or, rather, succumbed to it—your path is clear,” he continued. “Not easy, but clear. You have to keep working, it’s that simple. You got through Tisch, that’s a big deal. Or, to put it another way, you got through Tisch? Big deal!
“A new door is opening for you—a door to a lifetime of rejection. It’s inevitable. How do you cope? I hear that Valium and Vicodin work!”
But “you don’t want to block the pain too much. Without the pain, what would we talk about?”