Robert De Niro "takes certain things for granted" because he is white.
The 76-year-old actor has admitted the colour of his skin grants him privilege, and says he finds it "scary" that other people – including several of his children, who are mixed race – face racial prejudice every day.
He said: "My children are all half black and I don’t have … even me, I take certain things for granted … When people say that they tell their kids, ‘Keep your hands when you’re stopped by any cops, keep your hands on the steering wheel, don’t make a sudden move, don’t put your hands below, don’t do this,’ you understand that. That’s scary. That has to change."
Robert has Drena, 48, Raphael, 44, with Diahnne Abbott, as well as Julian and Aaron, both 24, with Toukie Smith, and Elliot, 22, and eight-year-old Helen with Grace Hightower.
The ‘Irishman’ star also spoke about those heading to protests despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as he said people risking their health to fight for equality proves "how angry everybody was".
He added during an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’: "We had all the protests and everything going on, rightfully so, people are so angry that they did not care. They said, ‘I’m going out anyway.’ I think a lot of people did wear masks, it seems that way. But that’s how angry everybody was."
Meanwhile, Robert recently slammed the US government for their handling of the pandemic, as he accused them of not acting quick enough to stop the spread of the disease.
The ‘Taxi Driver’ actor said: "I wish that people … the government had acted earlier. They had enough warning. Because we would not be at this stage of this pandemic, I think, if that had happened."