Robert De Niro up for Joining ‘Big Little Lies’

Robert De Niro wants to be on Big Little Lies.

The film legend and producer Jane Rosenthal spoke about the state of television at an event in New York City promoting the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival. The 74-year-old actor praised the inclusion of television series in the festival’s events and suggested it has becomes as important in Hollywood as films.

Entertainment Tonight asked De Niro, with actress Meryl Streep set to join the HBO drama series in season two, if he’d be up to giving television a shot as Streep’s husband on the show.

“Yeah, sure I would,” De Niro said. “Television is not the way it was when I was a young actor. It’s totally different. They’re doing very good work in television.”

De Niro has yet to have a series regular role on a television series, although he did receive an Emmy nomination for his role as Bernie Madoff on HBO’s television movie The Wizard of Lies.

But working with Streep might be enough of an incentive for De Niro to give television a shot, as he gave a moving speech celebrating the actress in January where he called her the ‘most generous and giving actor.”

“Meryl doesn’t seem to have any imperfections,” he went on. “And I say that with the most love for you, Meryl. I love you so much.”

Streep thanked De Niro with a sweet kiss on the lips.

The Oscar-winning actress will join the star-studded cast of Big Little Lies in the role of Mary Louise Wright, the mother of Alexander Skarsgaard’s deceased character Perry.

“Concerned for the well-being of her grandchildren following her son’s death, Mary Louise arrives in Monterey searching for answers,” said HBO. This will reunite Streep and Emmy Award winner Nicole Kidman, who plays Perry’s wife Celeste, who last co-starred together in The Hours.

With Streep’s Big Little Lies storyline, HBO puts to rest the suspicions that Skarsgard’s Perry might’ve somehow survived that fatal fall in the Season 1 finale. Still, Skarsgard is expected to reprise his Emmy-winning role, most likely via flashbacks.

Originally slated to be a one-season limited series, executive producers Kidman and Reese Witherspoon (who also stars on the series as Madeline) announced a second season of the show would air on HBO in 2019.

Big Little Lies season 2 will consist of seven episodes, all of which will once again be penned by David E. Kelley (based on a story by Liane Moriarty, whose novel served as the source material for the first season).

Meanwhile, Jean-Marc Vallée is passing the directing baton to Andrea Arnold, although Vallée will stay on as an exec producer.