United Kingdom, Feb. 26 -- Robert De Niro ate cobra meat when he was filming 'The Deer Hunter' - and says the snake meat tasted like marshmallows.

The 81-year-old Hollywood legend shot the 1978 Vietnam War drama on location in Thailand and during one day's filming on the River Kwai he was offered the exotic dish but after being brave enough to try it he admits the snake snack didn't pack much of a bite when it came to flavour.

Appearing on the 'Off Menu' podcast, De Niro recalled: "We were shooting in the River Kwai, and somebody said, 'You want to have some cobra meat?' So, I ate cobra ... It was okay. It wasn't great, it was cooked literally over a fire. They're just like marshmallows, and they had nothing on it to kind of give it a d...