As a part of their Academy Award whistle stop tour, the leading men of Silver Linings Playbook appeared on yesterday’s Katie where — because Bradley Cooper’s character in the film is managing bipolar disorder — the conversation inevitably turned to children who are affected by mood disorders. Director David O. Russell has been very upfront in discussing his own son’s troubles, both on Katie and in the past, but Robert DeNiro (who plays Cooper’s father) has always been a little less forthcoming. When discussing his role, DeNiro, who we’re not too used to seeing this vulnerable and open, choked up to the point where he could barely speak. “I don’t like to get emotional,” he told Katie Couric. “But I know exactly what [Russell] is talking about.” “You understood. You had some of the same experiences,” Couric replied, as DeNiro nodded.
Plenty of parents have. How refreshing it must be to see them being discussed so openly.