Robert De Niro Gets Emotional Discussing 'Silver Linings' on 'Katie'

During an interview about Silver Linings Playbook, Robert De Niro became briefly emotional when Katie Couric asked the actor if he felt a larger share of responsibility doing a project that director David O. Russell was "personally invested in."

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De Niro, when queried by Couric, appeared to tear up before responding, "I don't like to get emotional, but I know exactly what [David] goes through." 

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The Silver Linings director has stated that his son faced challenges dealing with a mood disorder. Bradley Cooper's character, Pat Solitano, is bipolar man who has recently been released from a mental institution and is returning home to live. 

"I've had a son who has a mood disorder, which means someone that can have moods that can pull them down the drain and send the home to a tornado in moments," Russell said in the Katie interview. 

Russell remembered speaking with De Niro about the Silver Linings screenplay in his apartment, where he reacted emotionally.

The director recalled to Couric, "I thought he was having hay fever, then I realized he was having an emotional reaction and I sat there and watched Robert De Niro cry for 10 minutes and I said, 'Wow he's really connecting with this material and this would be beautiful thing if it could work out, because I think his heart would be there' and it is there."

Watch the Katie segment below: