Robert De Niro will be the recipient of the 44th annual Chaplin Award, the Film Society of Lincoln Center announced on Saturday during the closing night of the New York Film Festival.
The award will be presented to De Niro on May 8, 2017 at a New York City gala. The Film Society of Lincoln Center has been presenting the honor since 1972, when it gave the inaugural award to Charlie Chaplin. Other recipients have included Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Sidney Poitier and Morgan Freeman, who was last year’s winner.
“De Niro has long been such a legendary presence that one can overlook the remarkably fine-tuned craft and quality he has brought to his roles over his multi-decade career,” said FSLC Executive Director Lesli Klainberg in a statement. “If you watch his performances, from ‘Mean Streets’ and ‘The Godfather Part II’ to ‘Raging Bull’ and ‘Awakenings’ and on to his more recent work in such films as ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’ you see a dramatic range and unwavering commitment to his work.”
De Niro has won Academy Awards for “The Godfather Part II” and “Raging Bull,” and been nominated for “Taxi Driver,” “The Deer Hunter,” “Awakenings,” “Cape Fear” and “Silver Linings Playbook.”
His new film, “The Comedian,” will premiere at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles in November.
De Niro is also a co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, which began in 2002, as well as Tribeca Productions and the Tribeca Film Center.
The announcement of De Niro as the Chaplin Award recipient was made on stage at the NYFF’s closing-night screening of James Gray‘s “The Lost City of Z.” The festival opened on September 30 with a screening of Ava DuVernay‘s “13th,” and also showcased the premieres of Mike Mills’ “20th Century Women” and Ang Lee‘s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.”