You know him for his iconic roles but in the education world, he is known as an honorary doctorate degree holder. Robert De Niro was previously honored during his commencement speech at Bates College. It was for his achievements in his work in the arts.

This happened in 2012. The legendary actor was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts. According to Business Insider, he previously made controversial remarks regarding higher education. Even though he received the honorary doctorate, he revealed that he made a good decision about not attending college. He was able to save money, too.

He left the students with this note: "If you're an actor, always be true to your character ... If you're not an actor, have character and always be true to yourself."

At a young age, De Niro attended PS 41. A public elementary school in Manhattan, New York. He enrolled in the same school until he was in sixth grade. He then moved on to Elisabeth Irwin high School. It was a private upper school of the Little Red School House. From there, he attended the seventh and eighth grades. Going on to the ninth grade, he was accepted into the High School Music and Art. However, he only attended for a short time because he then transferred to a public junior high school. It was at the private McBurney School where he finished his last few years of high school. Later on, he attended the private Rhodes Preparatory School.

What most do not know is that when Robert De Niro was 10 years old, he already had the passion for acting. At 10 years old, he played the Cowardly Lion in his school's production of The Wizard of Oz. He overcame his shyness and gained self esteem from and through performing. He was so engrossed with the cinema world that he dropped out of high school at 16 years old because he wanted to pursue acting.

Making his mark, he studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory and the Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio.

De Niro, in his tenure, has earned several awards. He has earned four nominations and multiple awards for best actor and also dabbled in musical theater.

Want to listen to Robert De Niro's commencement speech? Check out the video below: