Mr. De Niro, you are known as one of the best actors of all time, not least in dramatic roles from "Taxi Driver" to most recently in "The Irishman". Nevertheless, you also play again and again in silly comedies like "And then came Dad", which has been running in cinemas since last week. Do you decide according to your own taste?

No, the humor doesn't necessarily have to be mine for me to take advantage of an offer. What is more important to me is that the story has a certain truthfulness, at least at its core. I have to believe what I read in the script, then I'm interested. Italians can do it quite well, I think, a mixture of comedy and drama. In the case of "And Then Dad Came" I liked how the Italian-born comedian Sebastian Maniscalco talks about himself and his father. And director Laura Terruso's roots are also in Italy. I had high hopes that this would result in a coherent film.

What was the last thing you laughed about?

About my eleven-year-old daughter when she read the Levites to me the other day.

And since you just emphasized Italian: How important are your own roots to you?

Of course, my origins are much more mixed than those of Salvo, whom I now play in "And Then Came Dad". My paternal great-grandparents came to the U.S. from Italy, but my family history is also very Irish. But I do identify with my Italian side, no question about it.

What is particularly Italian about you?

No idea. I also can't really describe what the Italian spirit is. But I feel it inside me.

In the film, you even speak a relatively large number of dialogues in Italian. Does that come off your tongue easily?

I do speak the language, but I wouldn't call it fluent. I wish I was better. But it is enough at least for simpler conversations and to order something in restaurants in Italy. Things like that. Maybe we'll just put it this way: for an American, my Italian isn't bad.

Are you, like Salvo, also a good cook?

No, and I don't really cook much either. But of course I appreciate good food all the more.

How important was it for you that your character is based on Sebastian Maniscalco's real father? You've certainly met the real Salvo, haven't you?

Oh yes, that was really important to me too. I had him flown to Oklahoma, where I shot the movie "Killers of the Flower Moon" with Scorsese and Leo DiCaprio. Salvo visited me for a few days, and whenever I didn't have to be in front of the camera, we would go through the script for "And Then Dad Come" together, or he would tell me something about his life. This was important to me, because I didn't just want to know Sebastian's view of his father, but I wanted to get an idea for myself. And Salvo was happy that I introduced him to Scorsese.