Robert De Niro Lists Names Of Jan 6 Capitol Police Officers As His Heroes on Colbert

Robert De Niro didn’t hesitate when The Late Show host Stephen Colbert asked him to name his heroes the rattled off a few familiar names—Marlon Brando, Nelson Mandela—before also listing the names of January 6 Capitol Police officers.

The Hollywood actor and two-time Oscar winner appeared to promote his upcoming Netflix political thriller Zero Day when the host asked who he held as his heroes. After naming Mandela, Colbert pressed De Niro for “an American hero.”

“I do think of the Capitol Police, the guys in the Capitol Police. The Metropolitan Police,” De Niro replied.

He continued: “Michael Fanone, Aquilino Gonell, Harry Dunn, Daniel Hodges, and everybody else who was involved and affected and hurt by that.”

Colbert, never one to let a moment pass, seized on the political implications: “Can you imagine being Capitol Police now and watching those people march past you who want to deny that you served them that day?” he asked.

De Niro replied: “Yeah. It’s something.”

The pair paused at that point.

The comment comes as January 6th remains a deeply divisive national flashpoint, particularly with key figures involved in that day’s events now running for office amid the second Trump presidency.

De Niro has been a frequent and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.

Aside from politics, De Niro discussed Zero Day, in which he plays George Mullen, a former president who is pulled back into action after a catastrophic cyberattack.

Watch above via CBS.