Cannes 2023: Robert De Niro compares his evil new character to ex-US President Donald Trump

Legendary Hollywood actor Robert De Niro on 21 May took a jab at former United States President Donald Trump, stating his character in the new film embodied the same kind of 'evil' as the ex-president, reported news agency AFP.

Stars alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, De Niro's next in Martin Scorsese's epic 'Killers of the Flower Moon' was premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

In the film, he plays a real-life dignitary from 1920s rural America, William Hale, who built trust with local Osage Indians and then orchestrated dozens of murders in order to steal their oil-rich land.

"I don't understand a lot about him -- why he betrays them," De Niro admitted to reporters in Cannes.

Referring to the police killing that sparked the Black Lives Matter protest, he said, "But we became a lot more aware after the murder of George Floyd with systemic racism and that's what this is."

"It's the banality of evil, it's the thing we've got to watch out for. We all know who I'm going to talk about -- I won't say his name," De Niro continued.

However, the long-time Trump-hater couldn't hold back. He said, "It's like with Trump -- I had to say it," he said, adding, "There are people who think he could do a good job. Imagine how insane that is."

In the meantime, Leonardo DiCaprio eceived particular praise for his performance as a weak-willed man torn between his love for his Osage Indian wife and the evil plot in which he becomes embroiled.

With agency inputs.