Robert De Niro has compared his first significant TV role to "swimming the English Channel" as he gears up for the release of the much-anticipated political thriller, Zero Day. The series, which premieres this Thursday, sees the legendary Taxi Driver actor grappling with a catastrophic cyberattack that plunges the US into turmoil.
In Zero Day, De Niro portrays ex-president George Mullen, who is appointed to head a task force aimed at unraveling the cyber onslaught and averting further catastrophe. Although the Oscar-winner has only occasionally graced television screens, he's taken on this intense six-part drama, appearing in nearly every scene of the almost six-hour marathon.
"It is like doing three features back to back," he said, acknowledging the intensity of the project. "I was in most of it. And so I had to keep up with everything, even as simple as knowing the lines.". At 81, De Niro's illustrious career spans unforgettable roles in cinematic masterpieces such as Goodfellas, The Godfather Part II, Raging Bull, and The Deer Hunter, not to mention comedies like Meet the Parents.
Yet, even his lead role in Martin Scorsese's epic The Irishman didn't quite stack up to the demands of Zero Day. Speaking at a London preview, according to Variety, De Niro described the experience: "So I likened it to being in the English Channel," adding, "Swimming to England from France, looking behind me and not seeing France, looking ahead, not seeing England. I gotta keep going, otherwise I'm gonna sink", reports the Express.
The limited series Zero Day pushed its lead actor to the edge, plunging him into some deeply troubling psychological territory. As President Mullen delves into a spine-tingling cyberterrorism case, he's also grappling with personal demons that could threaten national security.
Eric Newman, the creative force behind Netflix's smash hit Narcos, drew inspiration from the current era of fake news and alternative facts for the show, admitting that De Niro was always his top pick for the role. "You can look at two different news sources and come away with a completely different version of the truth and that terrified me, and when something scares me, generally, it sort of inspires me," Newman said.
"If you have someone playing the president, a former president, and someone who needed a level of authenticity and credibility and gravitas - it's a very short list, and Bob was at the top of it.". De Niro himself practically stumbled into the project, revealing: "I told my agent that I'd like to do something where I'm in New York for five or six months.
"We talked about a limited series. Eric sent me every few weeks one episode, a few of them, enough to say: 'Yeah, I'm ready. I'll do it.'". Zero Day is quickly becoming a must-watch on the global streaming giant, thanks to its stellar cast and crew. Zero Day will be released Thursday, 20th February on Netflix.
