Robert De Niro compares his Killers Of The Flower Moon character to Donald Trump: ‘But that guy is stupid’

Actor Robert De Niro recently said his character in Killers Of The Flower Moon has the same kind of ‘evil’ as the former US president Donald Trump. He was at the Cannes Film Festival. Killers Of The Flower Moon premiered at the festival on Saturday and received rave reviews. Also read: Killers of the Flower Moon teaser: Martin Scorsese film amps up the mystery and drama ahead of Cannes premiere

The film is based on the best-selling book of the same name. It is about a series of murders under suspicious circumstances that target the oil-wealthy Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone with Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow as well.

Robert De Niro plays the main antagonist, William Hale in Killers Of The Flower Moon. His character builds trust with local Osage Indians only to murder several for their oil-rich land. Talking about his character, Variety quoted Robert De Niro saying, “I don’t understand a lot about my character. Part of him is sincere. The other part, where he’s betraying [the Osage people], there’s a feeling of entitlement.”

Robert De Niro added, “After George Floyd with systemic racism — that’s what it is — what happens there; what we never knew of the Black Street Massacre, it’s the banality of evil. It’s the things to we have to watch out for. We see it today, we all know who I’m going to talk about — but that guy is stupid. Hale was smart in many ways, but it’s systemic. Look with Trump, there are people who think he can do a good job.” “Imagine how insane that is,” AFP further quoted him in their reports.

In Killers Of The Flower Moon, Robert De Niro and Leonardo play uncle and nephew. It marks their on-screen reunion after 30 years. They had previously worked together on the 1993 film This Boy’s Life. Leonardo’s character marries an Indigenous woman, played by Lily who faces much discrimination from the rest of the community. Jesse is an FBI agent.

The film will be released in the US theatres in October 2023. Later, it will be streamed on Apple TV+ later this year. It is a Martin Scorsese directorial.