Robert De Niro, 80, has admitted he “doesn’t do the heavy lifting” when it comes to parenting his seventh child

The two-time Oscar winner celebrated the birth of daughter Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro with his girlfriend and fellow actor Tiffany Chen in April.

His youngest child Drena De Niro, from his first marriage to Diahnne Abbott, will turn 52 next month.

However, despite having nearly five decades of parenting experience, he has admitted that it is Chen who “does the work” while he offers her support.

Speaking to the Observer, De Niro also said that child-rearing “doesn’t get easier”.

He added: “It is what it is. It’s okay. I mean, I don’t do the heavy lifting. I’m there, I support my girlfriend, but she does the work. And we have help, which is important.”

When asked what he enjoyed about fatherhood, De Niro said: “With a baby it’s different to with my 11-year-old.

“My adult children. My grandchildren. It’s all different.”

De Niro has three surviving grandchildren; his grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Drena De Niro’s only child, died aged 19 from an accidental overdose in July.

In a statement released soon after his death, De Niro said he was “deeply distressed” by the passing of his “beloved grandson”.

Across a five-decade career, De Niro has received eight Oscar nominations, including five in the category of Best Actor. He took home the Best Actor trophy just once, in 1980, for his portrayal of the boxing champion Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, directed by his friend and frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese.

The pair have reunited once again for De Niro’s latest picture: Killers of the Flower Moon, a Western crime drama.

The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May where it received a nine-minute standing ovation.

In a far-reaching interview, the octogenarian actor also spoke of his dislike of Donald Trump, the former US president.

“It upsets me so much that somebody like him could get so far in our political system,” De Niro said.

“Many New Yorkers were on to what a fool he is, a joke. But when the country started buying it? I mean, he didn’t win by much. He didn’t win by popular vote. She [Hilary Clinton] won.”

De Niro also admitted that one of his ambitions for the future was “to stay alive” and that this was something he thought more about at his age.

“You think more about time,” he said. “Every summer, every new season.”

He added: “Everything I do, time-wise, is important. Whatever I’m thinking about doing in two years, I’d better think about doing it now.”

Asked if he enjoyed being older, De Niro said: “I don’t mind, I have no control over it. What am I going to do? I might as well give in and go with it.”

- Daily Telegraph UK via the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.