10 Dream Actor/Director Collaborations

2. Paul Thomas Anderson and Robert De Niro

de no A general theme spanning across Paul Thomas Anderson's entire oeuvre is paternal relationships, in particular in regards to the father and son. From Philip Baker Hall and John C Reilly's surrogate relationship in Hard Eight to the complexities of Tom Cruise and Jason Robards' relationship in Magnolia, paternity is a great part of Anderson's work and Robert De Niro would make a great father in a Paul Thomas Anderson film. De Niro, in his older age is a lot warmer and has a natural parental quality to him as seen recently in Silver Linings Playbook. The fathers in Paul Thomas Anderson films tend to be intrinsically flawed, sometimes even to the point of failure in their role as a parent and De Niro would fit in perfectly. It is no secret that Anderson is a huge fan of De Niro, in particular his collaborations with Scorsese so this is one of the more likely to happen, especially as Anderson's films feature a wide variety of characters of all ages.
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