Robert De Niro gives blunt commencement speech at NYU: "Yeah, you're f—ed"

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Robert De Niro Gives Blunt Commencement Speech at NYU
Robert De Niro Gives Blunt Commencement Speech at NYU


Robert De Niro stated the truth at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts graduation on Friday: "You made it -; and, you're f-;ed."

At the Madison Square Garden-set ceremony, he bluntly noted that graduates with degrees in nursing, dentistry, business, law, education all have a future of stability ahead of them -; a choice those other students made using reason and logic, but one that the crop of performers could not ever make.

"You discovered a talent, developed an ambition and recognized your passion. When you feel that, you can't fight it -; you just go with it," he explained. "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-;d. The good news is that's not a bad place to start."

The actor and Tribeca Film Festival founder continued his frank speech by clarifying what's ahead. "Now that you've made your choice -; or, rather, succumbed to it -; your path is clear. 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 evitable," he warned of post-graduate life. "How do you cope? I hear that Valium and Vicodin work! ...; You don't want to block the pain too much. Without the pain, what would we talk about?"

Watch the full speech here.

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