US actor Robert De Niro surprised locals in a small Loire village with a three-day visit as part of filming for a documentary.
He was following in the footsteps of his artist father, Robert De Niro Sr, who spent time in Saint-Just-en-Chevalet in the 1960s. He painted View from My Window there in 1963.
According to the mairie of Saint-Just-en-Chevalet, De Niro Sr first heard of the village during a trip to Paris in 1961 for an exhibition. His secretary met a hairdresser whose mother lived in the commune.
It was through this connection that he visited and eventually decided to live there in 1963, though few locals knew he was the actor’s father.
Mairie secretary Marie-Ange Sollailier told The Connexion: “Robert De Niro Sr was actually staying in the house that I live in – can you believe it?”
She said that the documentary was filmed under strict confidentiality, leaving both its content and Robert De Niro’s role undisclosed.
Maman Poule, the souvenir shop Robert de Niro visited alongside French artist JRMaman Poule
Ms Sollailier said she was only informed of his visit a couple of hours beforehand and told to treat him like anyone else.
Representatives from the mairie spent around two and a half hours with the actor, taking him to the house where his father lived and accompanying him to a local souvenir shop, Maman Poule.
Caroline Moissonnier, who was working in the shop, said she was initially alarmed by how quickly his vehicle pulled up in front of the store.
“I wondered what was going on. I almost thought it might be robbers!” she said.
It was JR who entered first, followed by Robert De Niro.
“I recognised him immediately,” she said; however, she did not speak to him personally.
“I wanted to leave him alone, so I thanked JR instead.”
The artist told her that De Niro enjoys being incognito and appreciated not being approached directly.
The actor bought a heart-shaped vanity case as “something thoughtful, likely for his wife”, said Ms Moissonnier, and a boxed baby gift set. De Niro became a father for the seventh time in 2023, at the age of 79.
In a village of around 1,200 residents, the day felt unlike any other.
Ms Sollailier said: “It was only afterwards that we realised we had truly spent two hours with Robert De Niro.”
