Robert De Niro slammed Donald Trump's immigration policy because it might keep out "the next Chaplin".

Accepting an award, the Hollywood star told the New York crowd that Charlie Chaplin was "an immigrant who probably wouldn't pass today's 'extreme vetting"'.

De Niro, 73, went on to say that the US President is hampering the arts and making "mean-spirited" cuts to arts programmes "for their own divisive political purposes".

The Goodfellas actor was accepting the Film Society of Lincoln Centre's Chaplin Award on Monday when he again took aim at the US president.

"I hope we're not keeping out the next Chaplin," he told the audience.

In an interview afterwards, he added: "I'm not in the same breath as Chaplin, I mean Chaplin was great. He was truly remarkable. So I'm honoured even to be associated with him. But what he did, and what I do are two very different things, totally, of course.

"He was amazing, really special."

De Niro attended the awards with wife Grace Hightower Credit: PA

Chaplin, who was born in London, was exiled from the US for supposedly supporting communism during the witch-hunts of the McCarthy era.

The British actor, however, returned to accept the film society's commendation in 1972 - five years before his death - according to the Lincoln Centre.

De Niro cited in his speech the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which the president had proposed eliminating.

The final budget agreement ended up sparing the three arts-related agencies for the time being.

De Niro, who collected the 44th such award, previously said he wanted to punch Mr Trump in the face as the Republican ran for office.