Actor Kevin Spacey announced the award Tuesday, which will be presented to De Niro at the 68th annual Golden Globes on Jan. 16.
De Niro has been nominated for eight Golden Globe Awards in both the comedy and drama categories, winning once for "Raging Bull."
He's also won two Academy Awards and the Kennedy Center Honor.Previous winners include Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Michael Douglas, Steven Spielberg and this past year's recipient, Martin Scorsese.
Ricky Gervais will return as the ceremony's host.
