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Bryce Dallas Howard reveals the Robert De Niro acting trick she steals for directing
From Jurassic World to Star Wars: Bryce Dallas Howard shares her De Niro-inspired directing method.
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During New York Comic Con 2025, Popverse’s Ashley V. Robinson got the opportunity to have a conversation with actor and director Bryce Dallas Howard in the Pop Spot. Howard, who you may know from roles like those in Lady in the Water or Jurassic World, or from the multiple episodes of the Star Wars Disney+ she has directed. During the conversation, Howard revealed to Robinson the acting strategy she borrowed from another legendary actor, Robert De Niro.
The topic came up as Howard discussed her directing style. She shared that (excepting stunts) she ideally prefers around five or six takes. For the first couple takes, she doesn’t like to give the actors any direction, and observes where they take the performance. Next she’ll issue a few notes. Then her penultimate take is a silent take, in which the actors will perform the scene without any dialogue. Finally, she’ll do pick-ups of what she calls “A De Niro.”
When Robinson asked Howard to clarify, she obliged. “Basically, that famous scene in Taxi Driver where he’s looking in the mirror and repeating, ‘You talking to me? You talking to me?’ That was not written as ‘You talking to me? You talking to me? You talking to me?’ It was written as ‘You talking to me?’ And De Niro does a series,” which is when an actor performs a line repeatedly.
“And I heard that [De Niro] does that,” Howard explained. Robinson responded, “Steal from the best, right?”
Want to hear every detail Howard shared with Robinson in the Pop Spot? Check out the whole video interview, available for you to enjoy right now:
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