Robert De Niro accepts SAG Lifetime Achievement Award

Jan. 20--Robert De Niro accepted a lifetime achievement honor at the SAG Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday and didn't waste a chance to show his trademark range of emotions.

"As actors we don't take victory laps. We're too worried about what our next job will be," he deadpanned, thanking longtime collaborator Martin Scorsese for his "next job" and "another year of health insurance."

He then got more serious, thanking his union and voicing his support for leaders who champion "humane immigration regulations" as well as "reproductive rights, sensible gun control and fair wages."

The actor known for speaking his mind, especially against President Trump, called our nation's current state of affairs "dire."

"There's right and there's wrong. There's common sense and there's abuse of power. As a citizen, I have the right to voice my opinion," he said.

The veteran actor is a seven-time Academy Award nominee, winning Oscars for his performances in "Raging Bull" and "The Godfather II."

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His most recent film, the Netflix drama "The Irishman," is nominated for best movie at this year's Oscars, but De Niro's lead performance has been largely sidelined this awards season amid a crowd of strong contenders.

His co-stars Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, meanwhile, picked up best supporting actor nominations from both the Academy and SAG voters.

Leonardo DiCaprio presented the lifetime honor with a moving speech, saying De Niro's "fearless pursuit of authenticity in his work" has influenced "not only myself but entire generations."

He called De Niro's collaborations with Martin Scorsese "inarguably the greatest partnership in cinematic history," one that has given us "career-long explorations of the human condition."

DiCaprio and De Niro worked together on the 1993 movie "This Boy's Life," based on the memoir of American author Tobias Wolff. DiCaprio plays the teenage son of a single mom in the 1950s with De Niro in the role of his abusive stepfather.

The actors worked together again in the 1996 flick "Marvin's Room" and are now working together on Scorsese's next film "Killers of the Flower Film."

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