After starring as a former US president called upon to help amid a cyber attack in Zero Day, De Niro is back in one of his classic gangster roles.
Although this time, the actor is taking on not just one but two and in the very same film no less.
Written by Goodfellas screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, The Alto Knights is the third script by Pileggi to have been turned into a film starring De Niro – Pileggi also adapting nonfiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas with Martin Scorsese for 1995 crime drama Casino which saw De Niro take on the role of gambling expert Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein.
Diving into the 1950s, The Alto Knights is based on the true story of the rivalry between New York crime bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese – the almost documentary-style film tracking the pair’s childhood friendship, fallout and near-deadly opposition which ultimately led to the downfall of the American mafia.
For the film, De Niro takes on the challenge of both characters, noting to LADbible playing the opposing sides really helped emphasise and ‘see the difference between the two’ men.
Analysing Nicholas Pileggi’s scriptwriting for the characters and working with director Barry Levinson aided De Niro in figuring out how to make each role ‘distinct enough’.
Robert De Niro took on a dual role in The Alto Knights (Warner Bros. UK & Ireland)
However, De Niro didn’t just have the characterizations of the pair to think about, but the more ‘technical’ challenge of what happened when the pair appeared in the same scene together and not just same scene, but seemed to appear in the same shot too.
De Niro explains: “When I had scenes with myself, you can’t cross a line visually, because […] it’s like a split screen type thing.
“We had to those technical things of where to stay and how close to the to this chair or something. So if you go past that, you’re not in a shot anymore.”
The actor reflects there were overlaps in speech between Costello and Genovese too which were ‘important’ given it’s the ‘way people talk in life’ which meant they had to get another actor to stand in as both the characters to read back to De Niro.
De Niro has opened up about the technicalities of filming the dual role (Warner Bros. UK & Ireland)
De Niro says: “I found this one guy, Joe, terrific. […] And he learned both parts, and it was great, great help.”
From the hitmakers behind Goodfellas, Bugsy and The Irishman, The Alto Knights certainly has a lot to live up to – catch it for yourself in cinemas.
