The begetters ofcrimemovies and shows are often accused of making a lot of stuff up. So, what better way to keep things real than to cast former criminals? Having an actor who has experienced a criminal life is helpful, as they can be counted on to point out the exaggerations and give more natural performances. It also makes for a beautiful behind-the-scenes story, showing that anyone can turn their life around and do better things with their lives.
Even so, the casting of former criminals in movies and TV shows doesn’t happen often for a variety of reasons. First, some organized crime organizations forbid any current or previous associates from participating in anything that might expose the inner workings of the criminal outfits. Additionally, most criminals are feared and are naturally obstreperous. No director wants to be dangled over a river for asking an actor to do 20 takes. Despite that, some filmmakers and showrunners took a chance and it paid off.
6‘Reservoir Dogs’ (1992)
Former Gangster: Edward Bunker
Quentin Tarantino’s first Hollywood picture is acrime-gone-wrong storyrevolving aroundsix gangsters hired to steal diamonds, only to be ambushed by the police.Did someone set them up? Suspicions arise, and bullets soon fly, directed at each other.
One of theReservoir Dogscriminals (codename: Mr. Blue) is played by Edward Bunker, a convicted felon turned author and actor. Mr. Blue is one of the more reserved characters in the film. His only words are said inside a diner in the film’s opening scene, where he asks, “Do you know what these waitresses make?”
Bunker Is so Legendary That a Movie Character Was Based on Him
Reservoir Dogs
Like most criminals, Bunker started young. He began disappearing from home when he was only five andearned his first conviction at the age of 14.His cycle of arrest and parole would continue until he wasconvicted of drug dealing, bank robbery, extortion, armed robbery, and forgery.Bunker was eventuallyreleased from prison for the final time in 1975, after which he turned his life around and focused on his career as a writer and actor. Since then, he has published seven books and starred in over 20 movies.
The character Nate (portrayed by Jon Voight), who fences stolen goods in Michael Mann’s 1995 heist movieHeat, was based on Bunker. The former criminalserved as a consultantin the film.
5‘The Sopranos’ (1999 – 2007)
Former Gangsters: Tony Sirico and Mike Squicciarini
The Sopranosoffersa look at the modern-day Cosa Nostra via the fictional DiMeo crime family of New Jersey, led by Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini).The mobsters kill, do business, and take care of their families, all while making sure that they, themselves, don’t get whacked.
Paulie, one ofthe show’s funniest mobsters, is played by the reformed criminal Tony Sirico. Actor Mike Squicciarin (another felon) also appears in one episode as an enforcer named Frank “Big Frank” Cippolina. Interestingly, his character almost comes to blows with Paulie.
Squicciarini Slipped Back Into Organized Crime, but Sirico Remained a Standup Guy
The Sopranos
Mike Squicciarini —a former debt collector for the DeCavalcante family— seriously dreamed of making it big as an actor throughThe Sopranos. Hetold the New York Observer.
“Just give me one year on that show. Give me nine or 10 episodes and I’ll be a household name. But if it doesn’t work out, I always got something to fall back on. I got my mask and gun at home.”
Well, one episode of the HBO show wasn’t enough to make him a star, and true to his word, he shifted back to organized crime. Shortly after he died in 2001,he was implicated in a gangland execution. Fun fact: he was outed by a witness who saw him in a clip ofThe Sopranos.
Tony Sirico, too, was a proper gangster, just like his character, Paulie. He was shot in a dispute over a girl when he was a teenager andwas arrested 28 timesduring his days as an associate of the Colombo family, serving under notorious boss Carmine “Junior” Persico,as disclosed by Cosa Nostra News. Interestingly, Sirico’s wiseguy nickname was “Junior.”
He was eventuallygiven a four-year sentence in 1971 for extortion and weapons possession.His interest in Hollywood would later be sparked when an acting troupe of ex-convicts visited his prison. Once he got out, he stayed focused and the rest fell into place.
10 Best Gangster TV Shows Since The Sopranos
The Sopranos has no equal but by offering compelling plots and covering deeper themes, a few shows have come close to matching it.
4‘Scarface’ (1932)
Former Gangster: George Raft
Loosely based on Al Capone’s life, the originalScarfacetraces Italian immigrant gangster Antonio “Tony” Camonte (Paul Muni)’s steps as he violently conquers Chicago’s gangland circles.As expected, his success attracts a lot of enemies. Actor George Raft, who plays Tony’s murderous, toothpick-chewing, coin-flipping associate, Guino “Little Boy” Rinaldo, onceserved as the driver and right-hand man of the legendary New York City Irish mobster Owney Madden.
Raft’s Mob Connections Saved Other Iconic Actors
Some ofthe greatest actors from Hollywood’s golden agecould have been whacked by the mafia if Raft hand’t played peacemaker. In his autobiographyCagney on Cagney, the legendary actor recalled howthe mob put a hit on him while he was president of the Screen Actors Guild.Thankfully, Raft intervened and had the hit called off. It’s also reported that Raftsaved thigh-loving actor, Gary Cooper, whose romantic escapades had angered some in the mob.
For the remainder of his career, Raft would find it difficult to shake off the mafia tag. But he always defended himself.
“I’ve never been locked up, I’ve never taken a drink, I never hurt anybody, and I gave all my money away. So how come I got this bum reputation?”
Bad reputation or not, Raft will forever be remembered for his numerous great performances. AfterScarface, watchSome Like it HotandThey Drive by Night.
3‘The Godfather’ (1972)
Former Gangsters: Alex Rocco, Lenny Montana, James Caan, Gianni Russo
Over 50 years since it premiered,The Godfatherstill stands tall asthe finest mob movie ever made. Michael Corleone’srise to the top of the underworldis the main story, but other characters also catch the viewer’s attention. And some of the actors playing these characters had mob affiliations.
Sonny Corleone actor, James Caan, was a known mob associate, Luca Brassi actor, Lenny Montana, was muscle for the Colombo crime family, Carlo Rizzi actor, Gianni Russo, was an associate of Frank Costello, and Moe Greene actor, Alex Rocco had ties to Whitey Bulger’s Winter Hill Gang.
Rocco’s Real Life Was as Exciting as Fiction
The Godfather
As far back as he can remember, Alex Rocco always wanted to be a gangster. “Acting wasn’t even in my mind,” he said. In 1961,he was arrested in connection with the murder of Bernard “Bernie” McLaughlin, a feared Irish gang leader from Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood. Witnesses saidRocco acted as the getaway driver.Luckily, he was acquitted. Years later, his wife would divorce him aftershe was almost caught up in an explosion from a bomb planted in a car.That’s when he knew he had to get out. Yet, somehow, Francis Ford Coppola pulled him back in.
As for Montana,he was cast when Francis Ford Coppola spotted him among a crowd that was on set.The real mafia heavily oversawThe Godfather’s production and Montana was there as a bodyguard for one of the young mobsters. Associate producer Gray Frederickson has fond memories of him.He told Vanity Fair:
“Montana used to tell us all these things, like, he was an arsonist. He’d tie tampons on the tail of a mouse, dip it in kerosene, light it, and let the mouse run through a building. Or he’d put a candle in front of a cuckoo clock, and when the cuckoo would pop out, the candle would fall over and start a fire.”
After his work onThe Godfather,Montana would go on to star in numerous other movies.
Caan, on his part, wasn’t actively killing people butwas a known associate of the Colombo crime family.He allegedly requested permission from the Don before starring inThe Godfather. On top of that,Colombo crime family member, Andy Mush, was his son’s godfather.Interestingly, Gianni Russo, whose character Carlo Rizzo indirectly caused the death of Caan’s Sonny,was linked to Frank Costello. He made the confession in 2020, claiming he had been active from the age of 13.
2‘Casino’ (1995)
Former Gangster: Frank Cullotta
Set in early-1970s Las Vegas,Casinois the story of low-level mobster Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro), whose bossestap him to head the Tangiers Casino.Things go smoothly at first, but problems with his loose-cannon lackey Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), and his materialistic wife Ginger (Sharon Stone), threaten the empire he is building.
Frank Cullotta, who has a minor role as a hitman in the movie, was a member of Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit, though he joined when the legendary mob boss was no longer in charge.Cullotta also inspired the character Frank Marino (played by Frank Vincent) in the Martin Scorsese movie.
Cullotta Chose to “Sing”
“Omerta,” alternatively known as “Thou shall not rat,” is one of the Cosa Nostra’s most important codes, yet Cullotta chose to say everything when he was given a choice between getting locked up in a cage or sipping margaritas in a secret location for the rest of his life. After his arrest in 1982,he became a government witness and entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program.To his defense,he had been in jail several times before, and he simply didn’t want to go through torture again. He ended up dying of COVID rather than a bullet wound.
10 Gangster Movies That Were Called Out by Experts for Being Inaccurate
Experts have singled out some of the most critically acclaimed gangster movies for having a few errors.
1‘Goodfellas’ (1990)
Former Gangster: Anthony “Tony Darrow” Borgese
Goodfellastells the incredible story of Henry Hill, whobecame an influential member of the Lucchese crime family, despite not being Italian-American (he was Irish American).Like Cullotta, Hill (portrayed by Ray Liotta) would later become an informant. One of the film’s other notable characters,the Bamboo Lounge owner, Sonny Bunz, was played by former mafia associate Anthony “Tony Darrow” Borgese.
“A Good Friend of Ours”
Goodfellas
Borgese has real-life ties to the Bamboo Lounge. Mobster Paul Vario Sr.got him a gig as a singer at the establishment.The lounge was a preferred spot for mobsters, and Borgese would later admit that he knew everyone. Hetold the New York Post.
“I knew John Gotti. I knew all those guys from the neighborhood. They always treated me well.”
Unfortunately, despite going on to have a great acting career and even landing minor roles inBullets over BroadwayandThe Sopranos, Borgese just couldn’t leave his former life behind. In 2011, the actorpled guilty to extortion after participating in a violent debt collection incidentperpetrated by members of the Gambino family.Per The Daily Mail:, Borgese led Gambino enforcers to the prey
“So Tony meets them. Shows them where the house is. They go to the house, the guy answers the door, they beat the living shit out of him.”
