Robert De Niro's type

[SuperFob]

Another little thing I'd like to add-

I would also call him a T. I think the T is what contributes to his impersonality/reclusiveness. He doesn't show a public persona because he sees that as irrelevant to his career, he's very happy as a T to be an unknown in the media.

Reclusiveness doesn't really resonate for me as an indicator that actor might be a T. I just don't think that tidbit makes much sense at all. There are millions upon millions of reasons why an actor might be reclusive. Seeing a public persona as 'irrelevant' is only one of them. How about shyness? That seems to me like a much more obvious reason why an actor might be reclusive. It's why many F actors over the years have been so reclusive- they see it as REALLY important to protect their private lives.

 

[Dali]

Matt Damon on working with De Niro in The Good Shepherd (Link):

Bob [De Niro] was just insistent on absolute naturalism and realism. He’s a student of human behavior. I’ve never seen an actor as famous as him walk into a room and do what he does, which is he just disappears. He absolutely disappears. He sits there and he watches everything. He sees absolutely every interaction. The reason his work remains so good, and he remains so relevant as an artist, is because he sits there and he is constantly just downloading human behavior. Oftentimes actors become famous and they end up doing imitations of their own performances, or imitations of what they think people might do in certain situations. Very few of them sit there and do the kind of rigorous observation that it takes to embody people in a subtle, nuanced and real way.

Wow, I do exactly that.

It's settled then, De Niro is ISFP.

Don't contradict me!

 

[Speed Gavroche]

I've heard ISFP somewhere. In any case, he seems very IS, even if all his roles haven't been S roles. I think that his characters in The deet hunter, for exemple, was INTP.

 

[swordpath]

I highly doubt Robert De Niro is an S.

I'm gonna have to second Quinlan's question. Why?

At least for a majority of his roles, he's a definite S. Meet the Parents, Casino, GoodFellas, etc.

 

[SuperFob]

I'm gonna have to second Quinlan's question. Why?

At least for a majority of his roles, he's a definite S. Meet the Parents, Casino, GoodFellas, etc.

It looks like my other post on this was missed somehow, so I'll throw it out again:

I'll start with what was said about the way Robert De Niro is known to observe human behavior. It was said that actors who do that must be S's.

I don't think that's true at all. I don't think observing human behavior and using it in one's acting technique in any way points to someone being an S. In fact, it may even be an indicator of them being an N. I know this because I've acted before and done the exact same thing.

The thing about me is that I'm like a sponge- I tend to soak people in. Whenever I spend a lot of time around someone, I start acting like them. I pick up their voice inflections, mannerisms, accent, etc. Why do people think it's an S thing? It's not about the details for me, because I hardly pay attention to all the little tics in the way a person talks and moves. My combination of N and F just absorbs all of that in a subconscious way the same way I tend to absorb other people's emotional states. I'm just really good at spending time around someone, detecting their 'aura', and then imitating them effortlessly without thinking about it. It's something I've noticed other NF actors I've met can do very well, too.

Leaving that behind, though- His acting style is a known thing. And through what's known about it, I don't think it's S-derived at all. Robert De Niro was trained by Stella Adler, and it was a training that consisted of him learning how to act through his imagination. Stella Adler's acting technique was all about developing the imagination and then using it to immerse oneself in the imaginary circumstances of a play. In other words, Stella Adler-trained actors acted by turning their characters and scenes into personal fantasy-lives. Robert De Niro was known to be very loyal to this acting technique. And it's not S at all. Stella Adler once said that her acting style, the one Robert De Niro used, was empathy. The imagination comes from N and F. The fact that Robert De Niro was so good at this acting style lends me to believe that he was undoubtedly an NF, and quite possibly, as the OP stated, an INFJ.

It's weird that people are labelling him as an S. His imagination was what he used to act with. There's nothing remotely S about that at all.

 

[Totenkindly]

It looks like my other post on this was missed somehow, so I'll throw it out again: It's weird that people are labelling him as an S. His imagination was what he used to act with. There's nothing remotely S about that at all.

I'm not analyzing his imagination, I'm looking at HIM and what he puts out. (Note: S's can be very imaginative... they just think in more concrete/tangible direction. It's a known flub of the test that SFPs can judge themselves to be N's, and you have to examine whether they're forest vs trees people to get to the bottom of it.)

I get "earthiness" from him rather an "ethereal." That's an S vibe, look at Naomi Watts or Nicole Kidman for an INFJ vibe, or Johnny Depp for a male NF vibe.

Despite being intelligent, what deNiro really seems to exude is "capability" in the sense that SPs do. He gets his hands on a role and grapples with it and never lets go, and seems to have clarity of detail of the world around him rather than abstracting innately. He seems to be a tree guy by nature, although he's so intelligent that he's also got a good sense of the forest around him after having immersed himself in it.

 

[SuperFob]

I get "earthiness" from him rather an "ethereal." That's an S vibe, look at Naomi Watts or Nicole Kidman for an INFJ vibe, or Johnny Depp for a male NF vibe.

I see what you're saying there.

I'm not analyzing his imagination, and S's can be very imaginative... they just think in more concrete/tangible direction.

That's where I have to disagree with. The immersive imagination comes from the N and F functions. SP's are creative in different ways, not through the imagination. It seems that their creativity has more to do with their incredible ability to pull details apart, manipulate them, and put them back together. SP actors use sense memory to immerse themselves in their roles.

When it comes to using the imagination the way Stella Adler says, though, it comes from a combination of intuition and feeling. Imagination doesn't come from S. I've talked with countless S's about this and every single one of them has said the same thing- they don't really daydream. They're grounded in reality and don't spend much time with their mind in fantasies. An active imagination, the "vivid inner life" is something that NF's have.

 

[Quinlan]

Hah, yes Sensors have no imagination and are incapable of using the N and F functions.

 

[swordpath]

Yeah... I daydream all the time. Well, not all the time but occasionally.

 

[SuperFob]

Hah, yes Sensors have no imagination and are incapable of using the N and F functions.

Really? I didn't know that. You want me to take your word for it?

 

[Quinlan]

Maybe I should keep out of typing people threads, it's kind of pointless.

Anyway, say if De Niro was an ISFP (I don't know what his actual type is) this:

Bob [De Niro] was just insistent on absolute naturalism and realism. He’s a student of human behavior. I’ve never seen an actor as famous as him walk into a room and do what he does, which is he just disappears. He absolutely disappears. He sits there and he watches everything. He sees absolutely every interaction. The reason his work remains so good, and he remains so relevant as an artist, is because he sits there and he is constantly just downloading human behavior. Oftentimes actors become famous and they end up doing imitations of their own performances, or imitations of what they think people might do in certain situations. Very few of them sit there and do the kind of rigorous observation that it takes to embody people in a subtle, nuanced and real way.

...looks very much like taking in information through his senses (Se) and processing it with Fi and Ni. Which is exactly what an ISFP would probably do if they were to become an actor.

Edit: To elaborate:

Fi:

It is like having an internal sense of the “essence” of a person or a project and reading fine distinctions among feeling tones.

+

Se:

We notice relevant facts and occurrences in a sea of data and experiences, learning all the facts we can about the immediate context or area of focus and what goes on in that context.

+

Ni:

This process can involve working out complex concepts or systems of thinking or conceiving of symbolic or novel ways to understand things that are universal.

= Something similar to what De Niro is described as doing.

http://www.cognitiveprocesses.com/introvertedfeeling.html

I'm not saying that is what he's doing but it might be, and there's no reason to rule it out.

 

[SuperFob]

My point is that great NF actors like Marlon Brando, James Dean, Johnny Depp etc. are known for using their imaginations. Acting coaches have a name for that brand of acting- "intuitive" acting.

The great SP actors, on the other hand, like Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig etc. use sense memory and are known for being more "technical" in their work.

I'm not saying that is what he's doing but it might be, and there's no reason to rule it out.

Anything's possible. I've heard of both SP's and NF's alike doing that. It could point to De Niro being either one of the two. The difference is that NF's just soak people in like sponges, as opposed to SP's who'll pick up specific mannerisms on a more detailed basis. In any case, simply observing people isn't enough to learn how to act. Emotions can't be faked that way. Modern acting is about manipulating emotions and immersing oneself in a story. As I said before, an SP actor would make use of SENSE memory to do their work. Robert De Niro doesn't use sense memory, though, he uses his imagination. So that's why I've been guessing him to be an NF.

 

[Jeffster]

I've talked with countless S's about this and every single one of them has said the same thing- they don't really daydream.

Apparently "countless" is still not enough.

The "S types don't use imagination" ought to be in the very first paragraph on the essay "Misconceptions About Types."

 

[SuperFob]

The "S types don't use imagination" ought to be in the very first paragraph on the essay "Misconceptions About Types."

I never said that S types don't use imagination. Just that the S imagination isn't as vivid as an NF one. And don't act like I'm being some typist stereotyping asshole. Each type has their advantages and weak spots. The vivid imagination just happens to be one of the advantages NF's have. SP's have plenty of creative advantages of their own.

 

[Quinlan]

My point is that great NF actors like Marlon Brando, James Dean, Johnny Depp etc. are known for using their imaginations. Acting coaches have a name for that brand of acting- "intuitive" acting.

The great SP actors, on the other hand, like Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig etc. use sense memory and are known for being more "technical" in their work.

But say if an IS_P actor decided to develop their tertiary function (Ni) so they could improve their "intuitive" acting abilities, you would probably lump them in with the "intuitive" actors even though that is not there dominant type. What is "sense memory" any way, it sounds like Si and a lot of SPs suck at Si.

Anything's possible. I've heard of both SP's and NF's alike doing that. It could point to De Niro being either one of the two. The difference is that NF's just soak people in like sponges, as opposed to SP's who'll pick up specific mannerisms on a more detailed basis. In any case, simply observing people isn't enough to learn how to act. Emotions can't be faked that way. Modern acting is about manipulating emotions and immersing oneself in a story. As I said before, an SP actor would make use of SENSE memory to do their work. Robert De Niro doesn't use sense memory, though, he uses his imagination. So that's why I've been guessing him to be an NF.

See my elaboration I added in my last post and tell me again that those functions just simply observe people.

 

[Quinlan]

And don't act like I'm being some typist stereotyping asshole.

It does look kind of bad when you're seemingly defining people only by one function.

Each type has their advantages and weak spots. The vivid imagination just happens to be one of the advantages NF's have. SP's have plenty of creative advantages of their own.

I personally don't see type as limiting anything, it is just an natural inclination, nothing more and nothing less and I'm pretty sure that's consistent with the theory. Type does not define what you can and can't do.

 

[SuperFob]

See my elaboration I added in my last post and tell me again that those functions just simply observe people.

You would know better than I. It was wrong on my part to make that presumption on what exactly would be going through an ISFP's mind and body when he or she sits down to observe other people. I can only, as an NF, tell you what it's like for an NF to observe and try to soak in people. I'm not an ISFP, though, so I would need an ISFP like you to describe what it's like for you to do the same thing.

But say if an IS_P actor decided to develop their tertiary function (Ni) so they could improve their "intuitive" acting abilities, you would probably lump them in with the "intuitive" actors even though that is not there dominant type.

You've got a point. De Niro could very well be an SP with well-developed Ni. And I don't really know enough about him to say that he's either an INFJ or ISFP.

 

[Quinlan]

I'm not an ISFP, though, so I would need an ISFP like you to describe what it's like for you to do the same thing.

That is the difficult thing though, describing in words can be hard, we are more likely to show the results of those processes through action (ie. acting? ).

 

[heart]

I vote for ISFP. I don't see how he could be anything else really. He's too in the moment. People are mistaking whimsical, unique and feeling for head in the clouds.

 

[Lauren Ashley]

^Agreed.

I'll go with ISP, don't know much else though.