Interview: Limitless’ Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro is an icon. Naturally, any film he’s part of will have a press day packed with questions like, “How was it working with Robert De Niro?” Sure enough, the press conference for Limitless was no exception. However, hearing the same sort of question and answers time and time again never gets boring because we really know so little about the man himself; De Niro is quite concise with his words. But between his co-workers’ thoughts and his own intriguing but succinct insight, we’re able to paint a relatively clear picture of who Robert De Niro really is.

In the film Limitless, De Niro stars as an antagonist of sorts, Carl Van Loon. Van Loon is the high powered figure in the financial world and the man Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) opts to lend his newfound knowledge to. You see, before meeting Van Loon, Eddie is a failed writer lacking any motivation whatsoever. Then he finds NZT, an illegal drug that grants you access to your entire brain including memories dating back to birth, the ability to digest information at an incredible rate and have increased sensory perception. After popping some pills, Eddie finishes his book, but then decides to move onto the financial world and who better to work for in that sector than Carl Van Loon?

“To me, the story’s about intelligence and human potential,” director Neil Burger explained. “We need a very powerful character to play Carl Van Loon.” The problem was, the role of Car Van Loon was far from a leading position as it was written. In the original script, at the end, Eddie meets a brand new character, entirely separate from Van Loon, but, as Cooper explained, “We combined the two and made Carl Van Loon both characters.”

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