De Niro says Mafia roles represent real people

Robert De Niro dismissed accusations that his Mafia roles have smeared the image of Italian-Americans, arguing that he plays realistic characters including many who could not be construed as stereotypes.

De Niro's defense Friday came after the Order Sons of Italy in America, a fraternal organization of Americans of Italian heritage, wrote a letter to the Italian government, urging it to cancel its plan to award the actor honorary citizenship. The government rejected that request and is expected to confer the honor next month.

"The characters that I played are real — they are real. So they have as much right to be portrayed as any other characters," De Niro said Friday.