Bulgaria's Zealous Fans Welcome Stuns Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro, one of the silver screen's most iconic hard men, looked stunned by the overeager welcome Bulgarian fans gave him last night as he arrived at Sofia airport nearly an hour after midnight.

The 69-year-old Goodfellas star emerged from the VIP section of Sofia airport smiling, but very soon he looked noticeably surprised and may be even annoyed at the huge crowd waiting for him.

The Taxi Driver actor just caught a glimpse of the hundreds of overenthusiastic supporters and reporters, but preferred to stay silent and not waste his time with autographs. Seconds later he got into a black jeep, guarded by security.

That left some of the fans feeling a bit frustrated, but others said catching a glimpse of the great movie star was worth the late night wait at the airport.

De Niro came to Bulgaria's capital Sofia, location to some of the scenes in the upcoming action movie "Killing Season", just a day after the arrival of his co-star John Travolta.

No details about their schedules however have been disclosed.

"Killing Season" (previously titled Shrapnel) was written by Evan Daugherty and directed by Mark Steven Johnson for Millennium Films, as the first on-screen pairing of the two actors.

The movie tells the story of American military veteran Benjamin Ford (Robert De Niro), who has fled to a cabin retreat somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains.

One day, visitor Emil Kovac (John Travolta), a European tourist, knocks on his door, and the two men begin an unlikely friendship.

When it develops that Kovac is in fact a former Serbian soldier bent on revenge, there begins a one-on-one confrontation and battle between the two throughout the harsh mountain environment.