Is Robert De Niro playing both characters in ‘The Alto Knights’? 

Mafia drama The Alto Knights hit cinemas on Friday (March 21), but is Robert De Niro playing both lead roles? Read on for all the info.

The film is written by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, an adaptation of his own book Wiseguy, and it is directed by Barry Levinson, known for Sleepers, Rain Man and Good Morning, Vietnam.

The film depicts a power struggle between two real-life high ranking Mafia bosses, Vito Genovese and Frank Costello. Their rivalry erupts into open conflict when Vito orders a hit on Frank, who strives to protect his family while planning his retirement.

See the trailer for the film here:

In real-life, Genovese was a close associate of Lucky Luciano, a major force in US organised crime, in the ‘40s and ‘50s, before becoming head of his own crime family. The attempted hit on Costello occurred in 1957, with Genovese later calling a mafia summit to consolidate his power. However, his reign was cut short two years later when he was convicted on narcotics conspiracy charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Is Robert De Niro playing both characters in The Alto Knights?

Yes, De Niro does in fact play both key roles in The Alto Knights. As seen in the trailer above, the acting legend is made up and dressed differently to differentiate the two characters.

It is not the first time De Niro has portrayed roles with connections to organised crime. One of his breakthrough roles came in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II (1974), where he played the young Vito Corleone in New York in the early 20th century.

He also played seasoned gangster Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas (1990) and casino operator Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein in Casino (1995), two films co-written by Nicholas Pileggi, as is The Alto Knights.

More recently, he played Frank Sheeran, a mob hitman and union official with crime family ties in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman in 2019.

The Alto Knights is in cinemas around the world now.

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