Robert De Niro says he regrets pulling a controversial film linking the MMR vaccine to autism after his son changed 'overnight' following the jab.

The veteran actor and founder of the Tribecca Film Festival came under fire last week after announcing he would screen Vaxxed: From Cover-up To Catastrophe. He reversed his decision on Saturday.

Today he insisted he was not anti-vaccine but was 'pro-safe vaccine' as he admitted part of him regretted axing the movie.

The 72-year-old said he made the decision as he did not want the backlash to affect the film festival but insisted that 'the movie is something that people should see.'

'All I wanted is for the movie to be seen and people can make up their own judgement but you must see it,' he said during an appearance on The Today Show.

'Let's find out the truth, let's just find out the truth.'

He added that he hadn't yet 'fully explored' the fierce backlash against the documentary 'and I will.'

De Niro, who has an 18-year-old Elliot son with autism, said he had hoped that screening the film could have started a 'discussion' about the alleged link between the vaccine and autism.

'There's a lot of things that are not said. Nobody seems to want to address that, or they say they've addressed it and it's a closed issue.

'But it doesn't seem to be because there are many people who say they saw their kid change overnight.

'My wife says that (is what happened to my son). I don't remember. But my child is autistic.

'I, as a parent, of a child who has autism, I'm concerned, I want to know the truth.'

De Niro also suggested that people should watch another documentary, Trace Amounts, which focuses on the now disproved link between autism and vaccines.

'There's a lot of information about things that are happening with the CDC, the pharmaceutical companies, there's a lot of things that are not said,' De Niro added.

De Niro admitted he was 'not too sure' about the disgraced former British doctor, Andrew Wakefield, who is at the center of the documentary.