NEW YORK (AP) β Robert De Niro has urged new graduates at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts to keep fighting to create creative careers even though it probably would have been easier if they became accountants.
The two-time Academy Award winner was the honored speaker Friday at a raucous ceremony for 1,200 graduates at Madison Square Garden.
De Niro says, “When it comes to the arts, passion should always trump common sense.”
The actor’s 15-minute speech was peppered with expletives as he warned that many in the audience face a lifetime of rejection ahead. But he challenged them to keep going.
He says they’ve made their choice or succumbed to it and their path is clear. He says they “have to keep working. It’s that simple.”
