Robert De Niro, 'Zero Day' cast talk of political thriller

Can you handle a cyberattack in this computer age when everybody is completely dependent on the internet, phones, and computers? And who do you think would be able to save the world from such a crisis?

In the political thriller limited series, "Zero Day," the hero is Robert De Niro.

The 81-year-old legend portrays George Mullen, a retired and well-loved President of the United States who is tapped to lead the commission investigating the cyberattack on America.

It is De Niro's first time to be a leading actor in a television series and an executive producer for a series.

Created by no less than "Narcos" and "Griselda" executive producer Eric Newman, former NBC News president-turned-screenwriter Noah Oppenheim and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael S. Schmidt, there is no way the series can go wrong especially when it comes to the very convincing political dialogue, and power dynamics.

Asked what made him change his mind and join the television bandwagon, De Niro, whom we interviewed in person in New York like the other cast members and creatives of "Zero Day," told us, "Well, I was looking for something. The fact is, I was looking for something to stay in New York and work on so I could stay where I live. And so, my agent introduced me to Eric Newman, and we talked about something, and he had an idea. So, he sent me a treatment of it, and it all sounded good. I was happy that I was able to be part of something that was well done, well-written, well-conceived and very relevant to the times."

De Niro, who is considered one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation, based his character, he said, on no particular president.

He disclosed, "I am aware of Biden, Clinton certain politicians who are Democrats, maybe Republicans who are decent people who feel that they want to do the right thing. So that's basically what I had, and you see a lot of interviews with public figures, senators, congressmen, presidents, vice presidents. You get a lot from all of that. And the people who wrote the show - Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim, Michael Schmidt - they know that world very well. So, you're on solid ground with whatever they come up with. It helps."

Lizzy Caplan, who portrays Congresswoman and former First Daughter Alexandra Mullen, admitted that she was thrilled to have De Niro as her dad in the show. She revealed, "Bob was attached before anybody, so I knew that going in and yeah, anybody would race to that opportunity. But I remember having lunch with Eric Newman. He was talking about all the people he wanted to put in the show, and I didn't really believe he was going to get all of these people. And he got all of them, so he wasn't bullshitting. Turns out."

About her character and the conflicts, she has to face later in the show, Lizzy simply replied, "Without giving anything away, I do think that Alex is going into everything with good intentions, very misguided intentions, but good intentions. I think she definitely is her father's daughter and believes in a more balanced society. But obviously, there are good people who can make some questionable decisions along the way."

Connie Britton ("Spin City," "Friday Night Lights," and "Nashville"), who portrays former Chief of Staff Valerie Whitesell, shared that she joined the show because "I was excited at the opportunity to work with Robert De Niro and this incredible cast. Certainly, getting to work with Bob was a bucket list item for me. But beyond that, this was a very different kind of role and a very different kind of project for me to be a part of. And I always like that. I like to try to do something that feels a little bit like a challenge and something I haven't done before. So that was exciting too. But really, it was just getting to work with this incredible cast."Joan Allen ("The Bourne" franchise, "Face/Off," "Room"), who portrays former First Lady Sheila Mullen, revealed that she joined the show for the same reason. "I felt the same way," she admitted. "It was really the people involved and Bob in particular initially. And then once I started learning who else was going to be involved in the cast, it was very exciting to me and that Lesli Glatter was going to be directing all of the episodes. I was very happy about that because we had a really good conversation beforehand about the project. And it's nice when a woman's at the helm for that long. Very refreshing. And she's a true leader."

Britton agreed. "Lesli really blows my mind what she was capable of doing. She was working for six months straight without a break on a very demanding schedule day in and day out. And then she would spend the weekends either editing or flying back to LA to negotiate for the DGA. She's really a superwoman."

As for Angela Bassett, who portrays President Evelyn Mitchell in the series, we asked her how it was getting into the shoes of a Black female US president. She replied, "Actually, we began filming this before Vice President Kamala Harris had an opportunity to show herself to the whole world. But there is great inspiration there.

"Of course, going back in history, Shirley Chisholm being the first African American woman to make a run for the presidency, watching her documentary and just Barbara Jordan and women today, Stacey Abrams and the work she's doing in the community to get the votes up.

"So, I had a blueprint of what it could look like. Then you get in there with the script, and then you just have to make sense of that and make it work for you but certainly have that blueprint and that inspiration. And then you have that very well-crafted script, a brilliant director and just go to work every day."

As for working with De Niro, Bassett gushed, "Oh, thrilling. Absolutely, he's an absolute legend. One of the best that he has ever done. It was an honor, an absolute honor and inspiration to sit across from him in a scene and have him throw those lines at you and to be there. You have to pinch yourself after, then like always, go back to work."

—MGP, GMA Integrated News