I don't separate Robert DeNiro's comedy from the serious stuff. The one thing I realize working with him in all of his work, is that he doesn't do anything unless something happens to him in scenes - unless something happens to make him react. He never came in with a set idea of how he was going to do it, he never came in with guns blazing. He would just show up and wait to see what happened.
Alessandro NivolaThere's something different about an indie film than a TV show that has a huge infrastructure that's in place already for you - at least financially and in terms of distribution. Whereas an indie film is just a total dare.
Alessandro NivolaA lot of the time with child actors, you get the feeling theyโre trying to have a kind of poise or presentation thatโs beyond their years that might be put on, but also might be because theyโve spent years just hanging out with adults and they donโt even have a sense of what itโs like to grow up with kids their own age.
Alessandro NivolaMusic helps define the character and is an extension of the character somehow, so that you are able to use both the songs themselves and the way that you sing them to tell something about the character and his story, as well as develop a performance style.
Alessandro Nivola