Though already well-publicized for its frank opening line, Robert De Niro‘s speech to this year’s graduating NYU Tisch class is actually rather inspiring and positive — more inspiring and positive than that headline-ready remark, certainly. What emerges from it is also far more eloquent than your average graduation speech (low bar, I know), with De Niro connecting issues of ambition, success, failure, and talent to form a realistic portrait of two worlds: the one that Tisch graduates have made for themselves and the one that everyone else is already competing in.
Of course, De Niro is (despite what the last, oh, fifteen years would have you believe) a great performer, and there has to be a bit of theatricality to make something of this sort captivate people in the first place. But much of his talk, from the flat-out joking (e.g. his Selma crack) to the clearly stated words of encouragement, seem to be coming from the same place, and it’s becuase of this quality that even those who haven’t had to sit through one of these speeches in decades will likely find something worthwhile. It might not encourage you to go out and finally craft a sculpture or finish the novel that’s sitting unfinished on your desktop, but it’s also more than mere panacea. He and Scorsese should go on tour.
Watch the full thing below (via No Film School):