Robert De Niro leads the charge as former US president George Mullen in Netflix’s six-part conspiracy thriller Zero Day.
In a glittering career spanning more than 60 years, the Hollywood legend has starred in some of the greatest movies of all time, winning two Oscars for classics The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull, plus six other nominations including Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter.
Now aged 81, the New Yorker could be forgiven for dialing down his work commitments. Instead, he breaks new ground by making his TV series debut in Zero Day.
Heading up an all-star cast that includes Joan Allen, Lizzy Caplan, and Dan Stevens, Robert plays George Mullen, a former US President who rescinds retirement after a devastating 60-second cyberattack results in thousands of fatalities and brings America to the brink of national disaster.
With chaos and conspiracy theories running riot and another attack imminent, current US President Evelyn Mitchell (Angela Bassett) asks George to oversee the Zero Day Commission, a clandestine committee tasked with investigating the crisis. But with George secretly battling his own demons, is he the right man for the job?
Here, What To Watch had the pleasure of joining Robert at a special press conference where he gave us his insights on his role and the story…
You’re best known as a movie actor, what first piqued your interest in making a TV series?
“I was talking to my agent about doing something in New York, so I could stay at home! I asked him if we could find something, maybe a limited series that would film over five or six months, and he introduced me to [Narcos showrunner] Eric Newman.”
This is the first TV series that you’ve both starred in and executive produced. What was the deciding factor that persuaded you to take on the project?
“It’s so well conceived and written by Eric, Noah Oppenheim [Jackie] and [Pulitzer prize-winning journalist] Michael Schmidt, who came up with the whole thing. Eric wrote a treatment – that’s a written long form of what the show would be – and it was a good concept with good material. Then he started sending me episode scripts every few weeks and that was it, I was in. I was kinda surprised they came up with this thing so quickly!”
How would you describe George when we first meet him?
“He is in a bit of a vacuum and trying to write his memoirs. Noah told me that when you’re no longer president, you find yourself in a void without anything to do because all of a sudden you’re not besieged by everybody every day, every second and every minute. When I thought about it, I realised of course that’s what it would be like, as George has not been president for 12 years.”
Why does Evelyn select him to head up the powerful Zero Day Commission?
“He’s chosen because he had a good reputation when he was President and is well respected. He was also a prosecutor, so could be tough when he needed to be, but in a way that was appropriate. The spine of my character is someone who tells it straight, doesn’t dodge anything or play games and would be honest about what’s going on to the public – unless it’s for valid safety reasons.”
Which brings us neatly to the heart of the drama. Can you tease whether or not he crosses unconstitutional lines once appointed?
“Absolute power can be dangerous and you always have a responsibility to do what’s right if you have it. George is accused of crossing the line, but his rationale is that we need to in order to get some answers. It’s a desperate situation and you can see his dilemma and what he’s going through.”
There’s also a question over his fitness to lead with viewers witnessing George experiencing memory loss and hallucinations. How much can you tell us about that?
“The mystery part of it is what he’s going through mentally and personally, and what that means. It’s a complicated situation. I don’t want to give too much away but Jesse Plemons’ character, Roger, is indispensable for Mullen, doing things for him that other people don’t, and Joan Allen is just terrific as George’s wife, Sheila. I was very lucky to have the people we had in this project. Jesse and I had worked on Killers of the Flower Moon and The Irishman, so I was very happy that he was involved.”
Did you have anyone in mind when preparing for the role?
“Believe it or not, it was a big help seeing presidents on press conferences and getting a feel for what they’re doing and saying, but I didn’t really have anyone in mind. The writing is so clear and everyone who created it knows this world, so the thriller twists and turns all feel very believable and within the parameters of what could happen. I’m protected by the writing being so smart!”
Finally, what do you hope people will take away from watching this?
“Well, it’s interesting. I can’t say what they will take away. It’s like reading a novel, you don’t know how it’s going to impact whoever who’s ever reading it. I would hope that there are good reactions. I was very lucky to have the people we had in this project. Angela Bassett, Dan Stevens, Connie Britton, Lizzy Caplan, Matthew Modine, Joan Allen, Jesse Plemons and Gaby Hoffmann, they’re all great. For me it was a lot of work but I was happy doing it.”
Robert De Niro’s six-part political thriller Zero Day is available to watch on Netflix on Thursday, February 20, 2025.