Robert De Niro to Grads: ‘Meet the Fockers!’

When Robert De Niro was asked to give the commencement speech at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the trustees didn’t imagine he’d tell the truth:

“Tisch graduates, you made it.” Pause. “And, you’re fucked.”

The graduates cheered. They already knew. Not that being fucked is necessarily a bad thing, if it comes out of passion.

“When it comes to the arts, passion should always trump common sense,” De Niro went on. “You weren’t just following dreams, you were reaching for your destiny. You’re a dancer, a singer, a choreographer, musician, a filmmaker, a writer, a photographer, a director, a producer, an actor, an artist. Yeah, you’re fucked.”

Watch Robert De Niro’s entire commencement address here:

Top image: Robert De Niro in Meet the Fockers (2004), directed by Jay Roach. Courtesy Universal Studios.

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