Robert De Niro plays two Mafia bosses in Barry Levinson’s ‘The Alto Knights’ trailer
In a recently released trailer, Robert de Niro plays two separate characters in Barry Levinson’s upcoming gangster film, The Alto Knights. The legendary actor stars in a double role as mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, the real-life leaders of New York’s Genovese crime family.
Debra Messing stars alongside De Niro as Costello’s wife, Bobby, as well as Kathrine Narducci as Genovese’s wife, Anna, and Cosmo Jarvis. The Alto Knights follow the story of the Italian American Mafiosi in the mid-twentieth century and Genovese’s attempted hit on Costello in 1957.
De Niro has forged a reputation from similar stories, with the actor becoming a regular in gangster thrillers directed by Martin Scorsese. He first starred in Mean Streets in 1973 with Harvey Keitel, then worked with Francis Ford Coppola on The Godfather Part II in 1974 before reuniting with Scorsese in 1990 for Goodfellas.
As well as this, De Niro has starred in iconic films like Heat, The Irishman and Casino, which all follow similar storylines that focus on the world of crime.
In March 2023, Barry Levinson described his next project as being about “best friends who become mortal enemies”. Levinson also spoke highly of De Niro’s work in the film, saying, “It’s amazing. He’s such an astounding actor. It was literally like two different people, like I was working with two different actors”.
Levinson is known for directing classics such as Rain Man, Good Morning, Vietnam, and Disclosure. The filmmaker previously worked with De Niro on Wag the Dog, Sleeper, and The Wizard of Lies.
The Alto Knights will be released in cinemas by Warner Brothers on March 21st, 2025.
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