Art mirrors life on the Netflix show Zero Day, a tense political thriller for Donald Trump’s second term. There are mobs on the street and far-right trolls on TV. There’s a billionaire making mischief and a state of uproar in Congress. Robert De Niro stars as ex-president George Mullen, whisked out of retirement to investigate a crippling cyber-attack. Mullen is dogged and courageous, but he’s a man of the past, not quite on his mettle. His daughter thinks he’s out of touch. “The world has changed in ways he doesn’t understand,” says his wife.
I’m excited to talk to De Niro about Zero Day and its real-world echoes. The show’s politics are what drew him to the project. The actor has made no secret of his disgust and loathing for Trump. But our Zoom interview comes with constraints. Netflix have requested that there be “no personal or political questions” and have dispatched a pair of publicists to serve as chaperones. Even ex-presidents and movie stars have to work within a wider system. Sometimes it gives them freedom. At other times, maybe not.
