No pressure! Tom Hiddleston took a major risk when he opted to do an impression of Robert De Niro in front of the legendary Hollywood actor himself while on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, Oct. 2 — but his risk paid off!
The Avengers actor looked visibly nervous as Norton asked De Niro whether or not he liked it when young actors attempted to do impressions of him, or if, instead, it registered as “nails on a chalkboard.”
“No, I enjoy it,” the 72-year-old Taxi Driver actor responded. “Especially if they do it well. No, it’s great. I love it.”
The talk show host then directed himself toward Hiddleston, 34, who is well known for his celebrity impressions, to ask him to demonstrate a few bits for the audience — namely, one celebrity in particular.
“It’s an expression of admiration, just to be clear,” Hiddleston began, to which De Niro chuckled. “I do impressions of people I admire.”
To warm up to the main event, Hiddleston did spot-on impressions of his Midnight in Paris costar Owen Wilson and renowned actor Christopher Walken.
Finally, however, he could put off the inevitable no longer, and he set the scene for his final impression, acting out both Al Pacino and De Niro’s parts from a famous scene in 1995’s Heat.
The actor nailed it, capturing De Niro’s pauses and mannerisms, right down to his signature sturgeon face.
Afterward, De Niro looked impressed, but a giddy Hiddleston apologized to the actor as “the esteemed gentleman at the end of the sofa.”
“This is so meta,” the Crimson Peak actor said. “I feel like I’ve gone into a parallel universe.”
Watch the hilarious video above!
