The internet is perplexed by a new (old) photo of Oscar Award Winning actor Robert De Niro that was posted to Twitter, showing the famed actor looking rather “determined.” The caption claims to depict a 7-year-old De Niro in 1950, but few people actually believe the photo is legit.




“this is a bit hard to process… he has ipad face” says @wengell referring to the phenomenon in period pieces where actors look too “modern” to fit the time period. The boy in this photo does not give 1950 at all. That boy has seen a Nintendo Switch and knows how to fight his mom for extra screen time.



The main issue that people have is his t-shirt. For some reason, graphic tees, and the year 1950, don’t go together in our collective picture of the decade, but after some sleuthing, we can confirm that the photo really is Robert De Niro as a 7-year-old.



There are actually many clear black-and-white photos of De Niro with his late father from around the same time, and that little boy, and this one, have the same “iPad face.” Plus, De Niro’s grandparents are from Syracuse, New York which explains the t-shirt.  


Still, it’s so odd to see someone you’ve known as old your entire life as a kid. I was introduced to Meet the Parents De Niro as a child looking like an irritable old man, not a kid who’s likely logged 10,000 hours on Minecraft.