Fan Behavior

Robert De Niro Admits He Might Be a Swiftie

The actor coyly confessed, “I am not not a fan.”
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by Andrew Toth/Getty Images

If you spot Robert De Niro bopping around the next Taylor Swift concert, don't be too surprised.

The actor and his Tribeca Film Festival co-founder, Jane Rosenthal, sat down for an interview with Variety during which the topic of their fandom for a certain pop star came up. Swift's short film for her song “All Too Well” is scheduled to be a part of the festival after which she will also be doing a Q&A. When asked how that collaboration came about given that the singer very rarely makes any public appearances, Rosenthal explained, “First of all, she’s in the neighborhood,” although she added, “Well, I’m not supposed to discuss that.” The co-founder went on to explain, “We’re always looking to show artists’ work to show what else they do—the interdisciplinary work. It’s always interesting to watch what artists do when they’re not doing what we think that they should continually do.”

When asked if they're both big fans of Swift's music, De Niro replied with a laugh, “I have all of her albums.” But he added, on a more serious note, “I’m not not a fan. I probably hear her music and like it on the radio. My young daughter puts a station on, and it drives me crazy when they chat. When they have music, it’s OK.” The Oscar winner went on to admit that he definitely prefers any of Swift's musical catalog to “the banter” of talk radio, explaining that he and his daughter “have a deal that when the chatter goes on, we go to chill [music]. That’s the compromise,” adding, “I go to spa [music] when I’m alone.”

The pop star's All Too Well: The Short Film will be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11 at 3 p.m. at the Beacon Theater and will be followed by a discussion with Swift in which she will open up about the process of bringing this 10-minute version of her song to the big screen. She originally released the short film in November of last year the same month she released the updated version of the enormously popular track off her 2012 album Red. The short film stars Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink playing a younger version of the singer, while Teen Wolf star Dylan O’Brien stars as her ex-boyfriend — a character who is widely rumored to be based on Swift's own ex-boyfriend, Jake Gyllenhaal.