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After reuniting with Meet the Parents co-star Ben Stiller for a Saturday Night Live cameo, Robert De Niro paid a visit to The Tonight Show on Monday, where he and Jimmy Fallon reminisced about De Niro’s being Fallon’s first talk show guest ever.
De Niro made an appearance on the premiere episode of Fallon’s Late Night in 2009. When Fallon brought up the nearly decade-old interview, De Niro replied with a simple “Yes,” proving that things haven’t changed much.
“Most of your answers were one-word answers, yeah,” Fallon replied, laughing. “But I remember, I was so nervous.”
De Niro’s pre-interview antics didn’t seem to help. Fallon recalled talking to a member of the star’s team when he was told De Niro wanted to see his questions. “I sent the questions, like 15 questions, and you go, ‘Pretty good. Let’s see what else you got,'” Fallon said, imitating an unimpressed De Niro.
The NBC host said he then wrote up another 15 questions to send. “I was sweating.”
De Niro’s response didn’t improve much, though. “It’s OK. Getting closer. What else have you got?” he replied.
But as Fallon begin drafting another email with more “bizarre” questions, De Niro sent a new message that read, “Ha ha, just kidding. See you on the show.”
“You totally got me!” Fallon said.
The palling around between the two continued throughout the show, including in a bit where De Niro acts as though he’s never seen a dog before.
“I think it’s a Labradoodle,’ Fallon replied to De Niro’s asking, “What’s that?” as the two walked past a group backstage gushing over a puppy.
“Well usually rabbits aren’t so big,” De Niro said, prompting the two to go back and forth about what a dog is.
Fallon tried explaining dogs are a “common species,” and a lot of people have them as pets, like cats.
“Well I don’t care for cats. A cat betrayed me once,” De Niro replied straight-faced. After refusing to hold the dog but eventually complying when he learned they don’t “lay eggs,” De Niro thanked Fallon for a fun day — only to walk away calling him a “fucking idiot.”
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