Robert De Niro Becomes the Bagel Boss in Weird UK Bagel Commercial

Robert De Niro was once hailed as the greatest actor of his generation. Now, he’s selling bagels in the UK. The acclaimed actor pokes fun at some of his famous wiseguy roles in a truly strange new commercial for British baking company Warburtons. The gist of the commercial is that New York tough guys are particularly outraged that folks across the pond would try to muscle in on America’s bagel action.

At least, I think that’s what’s happening here. What makes this extra weird is the fact that De Niro is apparently playing himself, not a character. Which means this commercial is implying Robert De Niro is a real mobster, not just an actor who sometimes plays one. See for yourself and watch the Robert De Niro bagel commercial below.

Robert De Niro Bagel Commercial

I’ll always be a Robert De Niro fan, but even I have to admit his output in the last decade has been…lacking. Which makes this Warburtons commercial extra weird, because it features what might be De Niro’s best work in years. He’s really going all-in on this entire scenario, which goes on for a full two minutes. Not only that, but the commercial itself is actually really well made, even if the jokes are terrible. Some serious production design went into this thing, complete with vivd cinematography, and a shot that directly recreates the red-tinted burial scene from Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas (De Niro’s henchmen are burying bagels here, not a body).

Still, I can’t shake how odd this entire thing is. Why is De Niro playing himself, and not a random mobster? Does the real Robert De Niro have a bunch of mob goons working for him? Is the ending of this commercial flat-out implying that Robert De Niro is going to murder the CEO of Warburtons? And just why the hell would Robert De Niro be so interested in bagel production? Many questions, zero answers.

All that said, I really hope De Niro brings the same amount of energy and enthusiasm he has for his role as Robert De Niro, Bagel Boss to his work in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming The Irishman. Because if not, it’s going to be awkward as hell to say, “De Niro was a lot better in that bagel commercial than that new Scorsese movie.”

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