De Niro To Play NFL Pioneer In ‘Lombardi’

New York, N.Y., United States (AHN) – Academy-award winning actor Robert De Niro is set to portray legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi in the upcoming movie “Lombardi.”

The project, developed by ESPN Films, Andell Entertainment and the NFL, chronicles the American coach’s years with the Packers from 1959 as he transformed the worst team in football into five-time NFL champions.

Lombardi, whose overall playoff record is 9-1, was noted for his coaching philosophy and motivational skills.

Though the authorship is disputed, he is best remembered for one of his famous maxims: “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”

His contribution to the history of pro football, including the introduction of zone blocking to the NFL, was recognized with the renaming of the NFL’s Super Bowl trophy after his name, a week after his death in September 3, 1970 at the age of 57.

The year after, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

His fiery determination, passion and grit will be witnessed again, this time on screen as portrayed by De Niro, considered one of the greatest method actors.

The 66-year-old De Niro, who has also dabbled in directing and producing, is best remembered for his portrayal of the young Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather II (1974).

That pivotal role, considered as one of the most perfect example of expressive and remarkable acting by any actor, earned De Niro his first Academy Award as the Best Supporting Actor.

He later won the top plum, Best Actor Academy Award in 1980, as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, which garnered eight nominations.

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) will pen the project, which is slated for release on the weekend between the AFC and NFC Conference Championships and the Super Bowl in 2012.

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