Celebrity Extra: Robert De Niro
By Dana Jackson
Q: I just read that Robert De Niro is going to star in a TV series soon. Has he ever done one before or just movies? — K.E.
A: According to TV Guide, two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro was “pretty much Hollywood’s last A-list holdout” when it came to starring in a regular television role. The series that lured him away from motion pictures is “Zero Day,” a six-episode mini-series that will premiere on Netflix on Feb. 20, 2025. It also stars Emmy nominee Connie Britton (“Nashville”) and Oscar nominees Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”) and Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”).
Robert De Niro (Upcoming in “Zero Day”). Photo credit Depositphotos
While the conspiracy/political thriller will be De Niro’s first contract role in a series, he has guest-starred on a few others, playing himself on the NBC sitcom “30 Rock” and the British series “Extras.” In “Zero Day,” which he also produces, De Niro will play the former leader of the free world, who faces a global cyberattack.
One of the creative minds behind the series is Michael Schmidt, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the sexual harassment case against Bill O’Reilly. He also wrote the book “Donald Trump v. The United States,” which was published in 2020. “Zero Day” is his first TV script.
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Q: I love watching “A Christmas Story” marathons when they show it every year on TBS. I know the actor who played Ralphie has gone on to do other things in show business, but whatever happened to Ralphie’s younger brother? — M.S.
A: Peter Billingsley, who played young Ralphie in “A Christmas Story,” is one of the few success stories involving a child actor in Hollywood. As an adult, he’s gone on to produce and direct several projects, even making (and starring in) “A Christmas Story Christmas” — the 2022 sequel to the original.
Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin, who were both brilliant as Ralphie’s parents, have since passed away, but their characters live on each year when “A Christmas Story” airs on TBS, TNT and Max.
Ralphie’s younger brother, Randy, who ate mashed potatoes like a “little piggy,” was played by Ian Petrella. He continued working as a child actor in the 1980s and most recently worked in animation and puppetry, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Petrella reprised the role of Randy in “A Christmas Story Christmas,” along with actors Scott Schwartz as Flick (whose tongue infamously adhered to an icy pole in the original) and R. D. Robb as Schwartz (who laughed at Flick’s predicament).
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Q: Is “The Night Agent” returning for another season? My wife and I really enjoyed the first one. — K.A.
A: Yes, “The Night Agent,” an action-thriller series based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quirk, proved to be a big hit on Netflix during its first season. Starring Gabriel Basso (“Hillbilly Elegy”) as an FBI agent working in the basement of the White House, it’s already been renewed for a third season before the second has even premiered. Look for season two on Netflix, beginning on Jan. 23, 2025.
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