The film Robert De Niro turned down... and it ended up winning an Oscar: "I don't want to do that"

Robert De Niro was clear. No to Martin Scorsese. No to a gangster movie. Specifically, The Departed, with which he ended up winning his Oscar for Best Director 17 years ago.

"We talked to Bob (De Niro) about it, but he didn't want to do it," Scorsese told Deadline. And that's even though the actor and the film director have always gotten along well and have worked together on many films. Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The King of Comedy, among others... as well as those associated with the genre such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Casino and The Irishman. But this time he said no.

The filmmaker opened up and reflected on the matter. "There are many actors I would have loved to work with over the years, but... I don't fit into the industry mindset. I've tried. I was lucky with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. Everything fit perfectly. But I didn't work with Bob for 10 years until we did Goodfellas; we went our separate ways. Then we did another two or three films. And then, for another 19 years, we didn't. In the meantime, there were two with Daniel Day-Lewis, and for years I wanted to work with Jack Nicholson, if work is the word."

The deal between Scorsese and Robert De Niro

And about De Niro, he detailed: "I talked to him about other projects and at one point he said to me, 'You know the kind of things I like to do with you.' I said, 'Okay'. That became The Irishman and it took us nine years. We were always looking. 'What about The Departed?'. 'No, I don't want to do that'. 'Okay'".