De Niro hits back at bad Italian portrayal

Robert de Niro has hit out at claims is portrayal of Italians in movies have harmed the country - as he prepares to accept the nation's citizenship next month.

The Oscar-winning actor, 61, who was due to be granted honorary citizenship this week, has met with opposition from the Italian-American group The Order of Sons of Italy for his roles of Mafia boss Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather.

However De Niro says: "The characters I pay are real. They are real. So they have as much right to be portrayed as any other characters."