In "Silver Linings Playbook," Robert De Niro plays a rabid Philadelphia Eagles fan whose son, played by Bradley Cooper, has just been released from a mental facility and has moved back home.
This makes for some interesting family dynamics, he told TODAY's Matt Lauer Monday, and sometimes it's hard to know if you're supposed to laugh at the antics or take them very seriously. "That kind of material I always like, because that's what life is really about, that the irony and the humor is mixed with tragedy and drama," said the two-time Oscar winner.
De Niro and Cooper also worked together on "Limitless," and the actor says they've become friends. He's even offered him some advice, which comes as something of a relief. "I like to give advice to younger actors or anybody who wants it. ... I love to give advice to my children, but they're at an age where they don't usually want to listen," he said. "But ... Bradley really listens."
"Silver Linings Playbook" comes out Nov. 21.
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