Robert De Niro cracks jokes at honorary doctorate ceremony

Legendary actor Robert De Niro, who dropped out of high school to pursue a career on screen, has been given an honorary doctorate of fine arts during Bates College's commencement ceremony in Maine.

The usually guarded star known for his stilted, low-key persona when off screen had the 463 in the audience laughing to his jokes during his acceptence speech.

"With all due respect to Gwen Ifill and Bonnie Bassler [the other two honorary doctorate recipients], I think this is the most important piece of advice you'll get today: Become a movie star"

Double Oscar winner De Niro didn't leave it there: "Now, you might be tempted by other careers, other interests, other commitments. There might be pressure on you to change the world, but you want to find the strength to resist."

The 'Taxi Driver' star continued: "When I started, I wasn't a movie star, and it sucked. The moment I became a movie star, things started to get better.

"My mother would be so proud to see her son, who never graduated high school, standing up here, receiving this honorary doctorate of fine arts. She would've been more proud of it if it was [from] Harvard."

However, the 'Raging Bull' icon did get serious when his speech came to a close advising the younger generation to "keep an open mind, welcome new experiences and new ideas. Don't be afraid to try things. Don't be afraid to fail. I always say, if you don't go, you'll never know. Congratulations to the Class of 2012. And congratulations to myself."

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