Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have a lot in common. Both men hail from New York, both are Italian-American, and both are considered to be among the greatest actors of all time. These two have entered the twilight of their respective careers and, to state it plainly, their lives, but that hasn’t stopped the similarities.
Weeks after it was announced that De Niro, 79, had a child with a woman several decades his junior, it was confirmed that Pacino, 83, would also be having a child with a woman much younger than him. It was De Niro’s seventh child overall while Pacino’s will eventually be his fourth, and frankly, the internet doesn’t know how to react.
De Niro and Pacino are the internet’s gangster grandpas. They’re lovable in their old age, despite playing some of the scariest and most intense characters in film history. They should be telling old Hollywood stories and riffing together in epics like Heat (1995). At least, that’s what we thought. That’s where this handy Paul Rudd meme comes into play:
It’s widely known that De Niro and Pacino are friends, and have been photographed hanging out together over the years. This has led to a running joke among Twitter users that the Oscar winners are engaged in a contest to see who can be the oldest dad.
Pacino has a few years on De Niro, so he’s currently in the lead. Both men played decades younger in the gangster epic The Irishman (2019), but even with the aid of CGI, it was clear that they were getting a little long in the tooth. That’s what makes the baby news so surprising!
We also have to mention the Twitter poll which went viral earlier this month, in which fans had to choose who was hotter: young De Niro or young Pacino. The poll garnered a staggering 270,000 votes, with people making passionate cases for both men and posting TikTok edits of their films.
The vote wound up 50/50, because of course it did. It was the only logical outcome for two men who have been compared and contrasted for longer than most of us have been alive. The news that both men are preparing to be fathers feels like a bizarre addendum to the poll, and some users can sense it.
Neither man seems to be slowing down, in their personal lives or their careers. De Niro stars in the new comedy About My Father (2023) opposite Sebastian Maniscalso, and he’s slated to appear in the upcoming gangster film Wise Guys (2024), directed by Barry Levinson.
Pacino, meanwhile, earned critical praise for his supporting turn in House of Gucci (2021) opposite Lady Gaga, and he will next appear in the political thriller Assassination (2024), written and directed by David Mamet.
Frankly, the fact that De Niro and Pacino are still having kids goes a long way in explaining their busy work schedules. Maybe a shared baby shower isn’t such a bad idea!
