His father was an abstract expressionist painter who died in 1993, reported People magazine.
De Niro, 70, honoured his father in the HBO documentary 'Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro Sr', premiering on June 9.
"He never told me. He was very private about it. He was loving and affectionate. But he wasn't the kind of dad who played baseball. He liked to take me to the movies on 42nd Street: 'King Kong', 'Beauty and the Beast'," De Niro said.
"I want my children to see what their grandfather did and how he lived. It was for the family," he added.