By Sandra Birungi

69-year-old Robert De Niro got really emotional when he appeared in an interview with Katie Couric on Monday talking about “Silver Linings Playbook”, his latest movie.

He appeared on the interview together with fellow actor, Bradley Cooper and director, David O. Russell but did not get involved in the talk about the movie as much as the two guests. The movie, which was inspired by the director’s son bipolar disorder has been nominated for eight Academy Awards.

When asked about how he related to the movie, stammered for quite a while as he talked. “I don’t like to get emotional, but I know exactly what [Russell] goes through,” De Niro said, voice cracking as he appeared to be holding back tears.

Russell confirmed that De Niro had related deeply to the movie. He revealed that when handed the script, De Niro read through and started crying. “I thought he was having hay fever, then I realized he was having an emotional reaction and I sat there and watched Robert De Niro cry for 10 minutes and I said, ‘Wow he’s really connecting with this material and this would be beautiful thing if it could work out, because I think his heart would be there’ and it is there.”