Robert De Niro Gives Brutally Honest And Amazing Commencement Speech At NYU: ‘You’re F*cked’

Robert De Niro wasted little time in his commencement speech at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts to give the grim news to the jubilant graduates. “Tisch graduates you made, the Hollywood legend congratulated them. Which was promptly followed by, “And you’re fucked.” In under a minute, De Niro informed the 2015 graduates of the school for performing and media arts on the harsh realities of their chosen career path.

The all-time great actor commented on how graduates from NYU’s medicine, law, nursing and business schools are guaranteed employment after school, and how the school of English graduates “are now the faculty.” However the Tisch graduates will probably have a rough road ahead. “A new door is opening for you a door to a lifetime of rejection,” De Niro said. “It’s inevitable. How do you cope? I hear that Valium and Vicodin work.” But he warned against too many controlled substances, “You don’t want to block the pain too much; without the pain, what would we talk about?”

The Goodfellas and Taxi Driver actor defended their choice of careers, no matter how difficult it may be. “You discovered a talent, developed an ambition and recognized your passion. When you feel that, you can’t fight it; you just go with it. When it comes to the arts, passion should always trump common sense,” he said. “You aren’t just following dreams, you’re reaching for your destiny.”