Post by The Social Introvert on Jan 15, 2018 11:06:00 GMT
Video version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDfWQuKytIM
All Martin Scorsese movies that have starred Joe Pesci – Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Casino – have also starred the late Frank Vincent. Robert De Niro and Scorsese picked up the two, who at the time were a music and comedy duo, for two significant roles in Scorsese’s 1980 boxing drama Raging Bull. Since then, Pesci has gone onto have two major roles in Marty’s two most famous gangster movies, including an Oscar winning turn as tommy DeVito in Goodfellas. Vincent also had roles in these two films but had much smaller parts, though his performance as Billy Batts in Goodfellas has given audiences one of the most famous scenes and lines in the entire genre. Vincent’s last role in a Martin Scorsese film came as the enforcer of Joe Pesci’s character, Frank Marino in the 1995 crime film Casino.
Evidently, Frank Vincent was very much a part of the Martin Scorsese mob scene. Surely then, had he not have passed away in September 2017, there would have been a role for him in the 2019 Scorsese gangster movie The Irishman? One of the key attractions of the film is the way in which it serves as a reunion to some of Scorsese’s original muses, such as Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Harvel Kietel, bringing together all these actors who worked together many years ago, whilst making room for veterans of the gangster genre who have yet to work with Scorsese, namely Al Pacino.
We may never know if Frank Vincent was in mind to have a role in the film, but if he did, who could he have played? A role as one of the film’s big three characters – Jimmy Hoffa, Frank Sheeran and Russell Buffalino, seems unlikely. A reading of the script was done around 2013 and it is thought the only actors at the table were Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, suggesting they were always going to play their characters. Given their pedigree, it only makes sense.
So who else is there then? A minor role as a relatively low-key character or a random mobster is possible, but would be a rather waste of the actor’s talent. One of the juicer roles in the film is that of mob boss Angelo Bruno, known as the ‘gentle’ don for his preference for dialogue over violence, a part which will be played by Harvey Kietel. Personally, I feel neither Kietel nor Vincent would be the perfect actors to play the role. I imagine Bruno as a kind of tender and moderate character, one that people feel comfortable being around. Both of the mentioned actors are terrific at playing fierce gangsters, even if the characters aren’t outright vicious both actors are adept at delivering performances with subtle and nuanced intensity, such as Kietel’s role as the abusive boyfriend in Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore or Vincent’s turn as the gangster Phil Leotardo in the TV show The Sopranos. Because of this I don’t feel either actor would be utilized to the best of their ability playing this character.
One mobster I think would be a perfect fit would be Anthony Provenzano, also known as Tony Pro, who will be played by Stephen Graham. I think Graham is a great actor, but it was a little jarring, given his age in comparison to the rest of the cast, hearing that he would be playing Tony Pro. Vincent was more suited to playing the role, I feel. Provenzano was often the middle man between union leader Jimmy Hoffa and the mafia, and is likely to have several profanity fuelled outbursts in the film and a few verbal beat downs with Al Pacino, a character trait which Vincent is no stranger to. He even kinda looks like Provenzano.
A far smaller role, but one that would give him screen time with most of the main cast, would be as mobster Chuckie O’Brien. He looks nothing at all like O’Brien but if Scorsese wanted Vincent to play a role similar to the one he played in Casino, namely supporting muscle, this would be the perfect role. It’s likely we’d see him a lot hovering in the background of mob conferences, occasionally pitching in and having a part in one major scene in the movie that I won’t give away if you haven’t read the book it’s based on.
Another gangster he could have played was Phil Testa, one of Bruno’s understudies and his eventual successor as boss of the Philadelphia crime family. Again it is likely to be quite a small role, but one that would suit him given Testa being known for having a stern and uncompromising presence.
So what do you think? Would you have liked to see Frank Vincent in The Irishman? If so who do you think he could have played?
All Martin Scorsese movies that have starred Joe Pesci – Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Casino – have also starred the late Frank Vincent. Robert De Niro and Scorsese picked up the two, who at the time were a music and comedy duo, for two significant roles in Scorsese’s 1980 boxing drama Raging Bull. Since then, Pesci has gone onto have two major roles in Marty’s two most famous gangster movies, including an Oscar winning turn as tommy DeVito in Goodfellas. Vincent also had roles in these two films but had much smaller parts, though his performance as Billy Batts in Goodfellas has given audiences one of the most famous scenes and lines in the entire genre. Vincent’s last role in a Martin Scorsese film came as the enforcer of Joe Pesci’s character, Frank Marino in the 1995 crime film Casino.
Evidently, Frank Vincent was very much a part of the Martin Scorsese mob scene. Surely then, had he not have passed away in September 2017, there would have been a role for him in the 2019 Scorsese gangster movie The Irishman? One of the key attractions of the film is the way in which it serves as a reunion to some of Scorsese’s original muses, such as Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Harvel Kietel, bringing together all these actors who worked together many years ago, whilst making room for veterans of the gangster genre who have yet to work with Scorsese, namely Al Pacino.
We may never know if Frank Vincent was in mind to have a role in the film, but if he did, who could he have played? A role as one of the film’s big three characters – Jimmy Hoffa, Frank Sheeran and Russell Buffalino, seems unlikely. A reading of the script was done around 2013 and it is thought the only actors at the table were Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, suggesting they were always going to play their characters. Given their pedigree, it only makes sense.
So who else is there then? A minor role as a relatively low-key character or a random mobster is possible, but would be a rather waste of the actor’s talent. One of the juicer roles in the film is that of mob boss Angelo Bruno, known as the ‘gentle’ don for his preference for dialogue over violence, a part which will be played by Harvey Kietel. Personally, I feel neither Kietel nor Vincent would be the perfect actors to play the role. I imagine Bruno as a kind of tender and moderate character, one that people feel comfortable being around. Both of the mentioned actors are terrific at playing fierce gangsters, even if the characters aren’t outright vicious both actors are adept at delivering performances with subtle and nuanced intensity, such as Kietel’s role as the abusive boyfriend in Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore or Vincent’s turn as the gangster Phil Leotardo in the TV show The Sopranos. Because of this I don’t feel either actor would be utilized to the best of their ability playing this character.
One mobster I think would be a perfect fit would be Anthony Provenzano, also known as Tony Pro, who will be played by Stephen Graham. I think Graham is a great actor, but it was a little jarring, given his age in comparison to the rest of the cast, hearing that he would be playing Tony Pro. Vincent was more suited to playing the role, I feel. Provenzano was often the middle man between union leader Jimmy Hoffa and the mafia, and is likely to have several profanity fuelled outbursts in the film and a few verbal beat downs with Al Pacino, a character trait which Vincent is no stranger to. He even kinda looks like Provenzano.
A far smaller role, but one that would give him screen time with most of the main cast, would be as mobster Chuckie O’Brien. He looks nothing at all like O’Brien but if Scorsese wanted Vincent to play a role similar to the one he played in Casino, namely supporting muscle, this would be the perfect role. It’s likely we’d see him a lot hovering in the background of mob conferences, occasionally pitching in and having a part in one major scene in the movie that I won’t give away if you haven’t read the book it’s based on.
Another gangster he could have played was Phil Testa, one of Bruno’s understudies and his eventual successor as boss of the Philadelphia crime family. Again it is likely to be quite a small role, but one that would suit him given Testa being known for having a stern and uncompromising presence.
So what do you think? Would you have liked to see Frank Vincent in The Irishman? If so who do you think he could have played?
