Ed Sheeran claims Robert De Niro’s the Irishman is his distant uncle

Music superstar Ed Sheeran claims he is related to the mob assassin played by Robert De Niro in the gangster flick The Irishman.

The title character is named Frank Sheeran and is a distant uncle of the pop singer.

That is according British actor Stephen Graham, who says Sheeran made the claim to him.

Graham is an experienced actor and has played several violent gangster type roles himself, including Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire, and Combo in This in England.

The Liverpool star acts alongside Robert De Niro in the new Netflix movie The Irishman.

He revealed Ed Sheeran had told him he is a distant relative of the lead character in the film.

Line of Duty’s Stephen, 46, said: “They’re related, you know. Honest to God — I swear on my nana’s life.

“That’s what Ed said, he says it’s his distant uncle.”

Ed Sheeran has always spoken proudly about his Irish roots, but it may be a surprise to many to learn that his relative was a gangster hitman.

The Irishman is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses, a gangsta slang term for I heard you kill people.

Robert De Niro plays the title character and is joined on screen by a host of fellow Hollywood greats including Joe Pesci, Harvey Kietel and Al Pacino.

Initially Ed Sheeran seemed unaware of his family connection to De Niro’s character, or perhaps he wanted to keep it secret for a while before making the big reveal.

He had previously posted on social media: “Robert De Niro is playing a top Irish gangster in a new Martin Scorsese film. The gangster he is playing is called Frank Sheeran. True story.”

Take a look at the trailer below.