Lucky man

Honolulu, Aug. 20 (AP): Travelling allowed Robert DeNiro to celebrate his birthday twice.

DeNiro first turned 64 on Friday in Melbourne, Australia, where he attended the grand opening of his latest Nobu restaurant. Then he caught a private jet over the international date line and had another birthday on Friday in Hawaii.

While many his age are thinking about retirement, the Hollywood star seems as busy as ever with his film career and Japanese restaurant chain, which is quickly expanding internationally.

“I have time,” he said on his birthday, sitting in one of the private rooms at his swank Nobu Waikiki restaurant, which opened in May.

Nobu Waikiki, located in the Waikiki Parc Hotel, and Nobu Melbourne are his 18th and 19th, respectively, in the chain, with additional restaurants planned for San Diego and West Hollywood.

The Nobu chain was a result of DeNiro meeting Nobuyuki Matsuhisa at the chef’s first US restaurant in Los Angeles more than 20 years ago.

“I thought the place was great. I told him: ‘If you ever want to open a restaurant in New York, let me know,’” DeNiro said. “A year or two later, he called me, said: ‘I’m interested.’”

Nobu started as a business partnership in 1994 between DeNiro, Matsuhisa, Richie Notar and Hollywood producer Meir Teper. The first restaurant opened in New York. The chain now has locations across the world, from Italy to the Bahamas.

DeNiro’s latest film is Stardust.

The actor has won two Academy Awards: best actor for his role in Raging Bull and best supporting actor for The Godfather Part II.

De Niro and Marlon Brando are the only actors who won Academy Awards for portraying the same character: Brando won for playing the elderly Don Vito Corleone (though he declined the award) in The Godfather while De Niro later won the award for playing the young Vito in The Godfather Part II.