Robert De Niro’s personal trainer of 40 years described him as a generous boss who treated him well — detailing the close relationship they built through a rigorous daily exercise routine while testifying in the actor’s ongoing legal battle with his former assistant.
Dan Harvey, 63, told a Manhattan federal court jury on Wednesday that De Niro, 80, never cursed at him or used profanity during their decades of working together, but acknowledged that the “Mean Streets” actor sometimes yelled at him when two younger men.
“When I was young, it happened a lot. Not so much anymore. I kind of knew the ropes, so to speak,” Harvey testified.
Their workout sessions — which vary based on the role De Niro is preparing for — typically last between two and seven hours on an almost daily cycle, and Harvey estimates that in the past 365 days, he’s spent 310 of them with the Oscar-winner.
Harvey’s account countered accusations by Graham Chase Robinson, 41, who described De Niro as a nasty boss who often berated him with profanity in a $6 million lawsuit against the actor, which he filed in 2019 after he sued him for $12 million. for allegedly stealing millions of frequent flier miles from him.
She also accused De Niro of relegating her to stereotypically female tasks like doing housework and running errands, despite holding the self-created title of Vice President of Production and Finance.
When Robinson’s attorney asked if De Niro ever made Harvey run errands like fetching coffee, he said at one point he probably did.
“I mean, I’ve worked for him for 40 years. I’m sure I got him coffee at one point,” he testified. “Not my job. There are assistants and PAs and drivers who do that.”
Robert De Niro, 80, arrives in Manhattan Federal Court on October 31 during his legal battle against his former assistant.AP
Harvey began working with De Niro in 1984 after the Manhattan-born actor finished filming the boxing movie “Raging Bull.”
“He was looking for a trainer to help him lose the 35 pounds he had from the movie,” Harvey testified, explaining that he was soon helping De Niro practice his lines during rehearsals.
“We’ll work on dialogue and he’ll work with me, two hours of practice, then maybe walk on the treadmill slowly, do his dialogue, work on his dialogue with me,” he said.
“He actually came in and started talking to me. He started the first scene of the day and he lined me up… As soon as he got in the door… He wanted to roll over and do the next scene the next day.”
Over the years, Harvey said he traveled the world with De Niro, training him for months on film sets in countries including Argentina, Brazil, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, England, France, Italy and Hungary.
Graham Chase Robinson, 41, accused De Niro of verbally abusing him while he served as his assistant.Gregory P. Mango
Rehearsal methods were changed to meet the needs of the role De Niro was playing, Harvey said, recalling how the ending of 1990’s “Goodfellas” required the actor to look older than he was throughout the film.
“We went and trained 21 days straight in Montauk to make him look older and thinner,” says Harvey.
Other films, such as “Cape Fear” the following year, required De Niro to look “very lean, clear and cut.”
Harvey said De Niro paid him a salary of $290,000 before 2019, which rose to $375,000 in May of that year.
During the 2008 financial crisis, he tried to reduce it by 50% but Harvey asked him not to.
“I explained to Mr. De Niro that taking a 50% pay cut at this point would not work with me. I told him I had a mortgage payment, I had a car payment and it didn’t make sense to me,” Harvey testified.
“He said he would fully understand and take care of her.”
Robinson – who started working for De Niro in 2008 – asked for a raise 10 years later to match what Harvey made.
She previously testified that De Niro initially refused her request.
“Chase you have no children. And have a family to support,” he told him.
De Niro eventually agreed to pay Robinson a salary of $300,000.
And Harvey helped De Niro get in shape for the filming of the 1991 thriller Cape Fear.
During closing arguments on Wednesday, De Niro’s lawyer, Richard Schoenstein, said Robinson’s claim of gender discrimination did not exist until he learned the actor’s company, Canal Productions, had been looking into his finances since then.
“The idea of gender discrimination doesn’t arise until lawyers get involved,” he said, then added, “Gender discrimination is alive and well in this country, but we have to be able to distinguish between real gender discrimination and what’s happening here.”
De Niro filed suit against Robinson shortly after he left Canal in 2019, alleging he stole about $60,000 worth of frequent flyer miles, some of which he had allowed him to use under an “honor code.”
Schoenstein argued that Robinson clearly snatched the rock from the actor as soon as his job appeared to be in jeopardy.
“He’s never moved a million miles at once. And then all of a sudden in early 2019, with all these things going on… all of a sudden he swiped 5 million miles into his account,” he told jurors.
Robinson’s lawyer, Brent Hannafan, argued during his closing arguments that his client had bravely stood up to De Niro — whom he described as “one of the most famous and powerful men in the entertainment industry” — even though he feared retaliation from the star and his staff after he quit.
“We ask all of you to defend your beliefs and exercise your authority as a jury,” he said.
Schoenstein argues that fear of retaliation is also created.
“Only after being called out on his expenses did he say anything about retaliation,” he said.
De Niro, who was in court for part of the closing arguments, did not comment as he left.
The jury is set to begin deliberations on Thursday.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
