Woody Harrelson was surprised to learn an unexpected detail about Robert De Niro’s private life. During a recent conversation, Harrelson revealed that the legendary actor has eighteen little dogs at his New York home, offering a glimpse into a side of De Niro that audiences rarely get to see.
Woody Harrelson recalls discovering Robert De Niro’s house is full of little dogs
Woody Harrelson, in a new Interview Magazine interview with Skyler Gisondo, recalls hanging out with legendary star Robert De Niro. Harrelson discovered De Niro has eighteen dogs at his home. The 65-year-old said, “He has eighteen dogs. We went over to his house here in New York, and nine dogs came to the door.” The revelation surprised Harrelson because it contrasted sharply with the intimidating characters De Niro has portrayed throughout his career.
Harrelson appeared for the interview for the upcoming sequel, Focker In-Law, and recalled meeting De Niro. Harrelson said, “They’re these little dogs; they get to do whatever they want. Thinking about Bob De Niro, you don’t think of him inside of this world with a zillion dogs.”
De Niro previously spoke about his dogs at home on a podcast, Table Manners, in 2022. De Niro said, “There are so many things that come up that I don’t even know the names. I have a bunch of little dogs. I don’t even know all their names.”
According to Entertainment Weekly, a few of his little dogs appeared in The Alto Knights with De Niro. Skyler Gisondo also spoke about De Niro, adding that it “felt insane” that he was able “to be in the same room” as De Niro.
Gisondo added, “Everybody calls him Bob, which I learned very quickly, but I could not bring myself to. I was calling him Mr. De Niro because anything else would’ve felt insane. I started to feel weird, I could sense he wanted me to just call him Bob. At the end of the first week, I switched. I was like, ‘Alright, Bob, thanks so much for a great week.’”
Harrelson’s revelation about De Niro’s sweet side challenged his tough-guy image. De Niro is known for his intense, tough-guy roles as an actor. Ben Stiller, who starred alongside De Niro in previous Focker films, is also part of the upcoming sequel. Skyler Gisondo is starring in the upcoming sequel alongside Woody Harrelson.
Focker In-Law is set to release on November 25, 2026.
