In Character: The Cast of The Irishman

As of this writing, I am currently on my fourth viewing of The Irishman. I love everything about this movie; it’s demanding, singularly paced, and expertly acted. To highlight many of the performers involved, I thought it’d be fun to dedicate an entire In Character post to them. Please note that because seemingly everyone is in The Irishman, not all of the actors are listed here.

Gary Basaraba

Role in The Irishman: Frank “Fitz” Fitzsimmons

Notable Roles: Fried Green Tomatoes, Brooklyn South, Charlotte’s Web, Mad Men, Suburbicon

Best Role: Basaraba is a great character actor who’s been delivering steady performances for decades, my favorite being his sarcastic yet empathic turn as Officer Ray in the criminally ignored show, Boomtown.

Paul Ben-Victor

Role in The Irishman: Jake Gottlieb

Notable Roles: True Romance, Entourage, John from Cincinnati, In Plain Sight, Vinyl

Best Role: Ben-Victor is one of those amazing character actors who pops up everywhere, but I’ve never liked him more than as ruthless drug lord, Vondas, in The Wire.

Louis Cancelmi

Role in The Irishman: Sally Bugs

Notable Roles: Gabi on the Roof in July, Boardwalk Empire, Billions, 21 Bridges

Best Role: Cancelmi (and his flawless cheekbones) is great in everything, but his strongest work was as a stifled FBI agent stationed at Langley in The Looming Tower (which is a really underrated miniseries, by the way).

Bobby Cannavale

Role in The Irishman: Skinny Razor

Notable Roles: The Station Agent, Win Win, Vinyl, Master of None, Homecoming

Best Role: I have never seen an even mediocre Cannavale performance, so this is a hard choice. Ultimately, I have to go with his psychopathic turn as Gyp Rosetti in Boardwalk Empire.

Robert De Niro

Role in The Irishman: Frank Sheeran

Notable Roles: Mean Streets, The Godfather: Part II, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Goodfellas

Best Role: Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. As good as acting gets.

Bo Dietl

Role in The Irishman: Joe Glimco

Notable Roles: Bad Lieutenant, One Tough Cop, Vinyl

Best Role: Bo Dietl used to work for the real Jordan Belfort, so I love watching Dietl chastise Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street: “Are we talking tonight or are you gonna get schwacked? The last time you took these fuckin’ pills you put your head in the fucking macaroni I had to pick it up!”

Lucy Gallina

Role in The Irishman: Peggy Sheeran

Notable Roles: Boardwalk Empire

Best Role: Peggy in The Irishman. Her curious eyes steal every scene she’s in.

Stephen Graham

Role in The Irishman: Tony Pro

Notable Roles: Snatch, This is England, Public Enemies, Boardwalk Empire, Taboo

Best Role: I was going to choose Graham’s uncanny work as Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire, but having watched The Irishman multiple times, I have to go with Tony Pro here. Graham goes toe-to-toe with Pacino and doesn’t flinch.

Paul Herman

Role in The Irishman: Whispers DiTullio

Notable Roles: Goodfellas, Casino, The Sopranos, Crazy Heart, Entourage

Best Role: Herman is great in everything, whether he’s a cranked coke dealer in Goodfellas (“You wanna see helicopters?!”), or a financial adviser in Entourage, Herman always brings a reliable energy to his work. But I think my current favorite Herman performance is as a hilariously degenerate gambler in Silver Linings Playbook.

Jake Hoffman

Role in The Irishman: Allen Dorfman

Notable Roles: Barney’s Version, Luck, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Role: Hoffman, son of Dustin, has a fun turn as “Steeeeveeee Maaaaddeeen” in The Wolf of Wall Street, but I’m going to go with “that ball-bustin’ Dorfman” in The Irishman as his current best.

Jack Huston

Role in The Irishman: Bobby Kennedy

Notable Roles: Not Fade Away, Kill Your Darlings, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Ben-Hur

Best Role: It must be the loyal, disfigured, lethal Richard Harrow from Boardwalk Empire.

Marin Ireland

Role in The Irishman: Dolores Sheeran

Notable Roles: Mildred Pierce, Girls, The Slap, Hell or High Water, Sneaky Pete

Best Role: I love Ireland’s work in 28 Hotel Rooms. She and Chris Messina tapped into something unique there.

Harvey Keitel

Role in The Irishman: Angelo Bruno

Notable Roles: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Bugsy, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction

Best Role: Bad Lieutenant. It will always be Bad Lieutenant.

Stephanie Kurtzuba

Role in The Irishman: Irene Sheeran

Notable Roles: The Good Wife, The Leftovers, Annie, Waco

Best Role: Kimmie Belzer in The Wolf of Wall Street. She provides one of the rare tender moments in that film, and I’ve never forgotten it.

Domenick Lombardozzi

Role in The Irishman: Fat Tony Salerno

Notable Roles: Miami Vice, Entourage, Public Enemies, Boardwalk Empire, Ray Donovan

Best Role: I love where Lombardozzi’s career has gone, but I’m partial to his breakout turn as Herc, the perpetually two-steps-behind cop in The Wire.

J.C. MacKenzie

Role in The Irishman: Jimmy Neal

Notable Roles: Dark Angel, The Aviator, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, Vinyl

Best Role: I love when MacKenzie pops up in a Scorsese film for a scene or two. His Jimmy Neal in The Irishman being a standing example.

Sebastian Maniscalco

Role in The Irishman: Crazy Joe Gallo

Notable Roles: Tag, Green Book

Best Role: Crazy Joe Gallo, no question. This performance makes you completely forget that Maniscalco is a great stand-up comedian.

Kathrine Narducci

Role in The Irishman: Carrie Bufalino

Notable Roles: A Bronx Tale, The Sopranos, Jersey Boys, Power

Best Role: Narducci’s ongoing cigarette smoking bit in The Irishman brings some much-needed levity to the film, and that scene with her and Pesci in the hallway is so damn haunting. “Don’t forget your shoes, Russell.”

Jim Norton

Role in The Irishman: Don Rickles

Notable Roles: Cop Out, Louie, Inside Amy Schumer, Power

Best Role: I love Norton’s cameo as Don Rickles in The Irishman (pictured), but I can’t deny his hilarious work as a version of himself on FX’s Louie.

Al Pacino

Role in The Irishman: Jimmy Hoffa

Notable Roles: The Godfather, Serpico, The Godfather: Part II, Scarface, Glengarry Glen Ross

Best Role: Take your pick, but for me, it’s always been Sonny from Dog Day Afternoon. The fear, the desperation, the clumsiness, the vulnerability – I’m undeniably drawn to all of it.

Aleksa Palladino

Role in The Irishman: Mary Sheeran

Notable Roles: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Boardwalk Empire, Halt and Catch Fire

Best Role: Judy from The Loudest Voice. I haven’t heard many people talking about this miniseries (perhaps Bombshell is stealing its thunder), but Palladino’s emotionless turn as Roger Ailes’ assistant was the best part of The Loudest Voice.

Anna Paquin

Role in The Irishman: Peggy Sheeran

Notable Roles: X-Men franchise, Finding Forrester, 25^th Hour, True Blood, The Affair

Best Role: Either her Oscar-winning work in The Piano, which is surely one of the best child performances captured on film, or her tonally unique turn as Lisa in Margaret.

Joe Pesci

Role in The Irishman: Russell Bufalino

Notable Roles: Lethal Weapon franchise, Goodfellas, Home Alone, My Cousin Vinny, Casino

Best Role: I can’t lie, Pesci’s work as Russell Bufalino could very well be remembered as his best. But for now, I’m sticking with his profane performance in Raging Bull. But, really, this is Joe Pesci, so take your pick.

Jesse Plemons

Role in The Irishman: Chuckie O’Brien

Notable Roles: Friday Night Lights, The Master, Black Mass, Fargo, Other People, Game Night

Best Role: Plemons is superb in everything, so this isn’t easy. But I’ll go with good old psychopathic Todd in Breaking Bad. Fuckin’ Todd.

Dascha Polanco

Role in The Irishman: Nurse

Notable Roles: Joy, The Cobbler, Russian Doll, When They See Us

Best Role: Definitely Dayanara Diaz from Orange is the New Black.

Ray Romano

Role in The Irishman: Bill Bufalino

Notable Roles: Everybody Loves Raymond, Parenthood, Vinyl, The Big Sick, Get Shorty

Best Role: Everybody Loves Raymond may be the obvious choice here, but I haven’t seen an episode of it (I’ve never had luck with sitcoms). I’m genuinely going with Bill Bufalino here. I believed every note of Romano’s work in The Irishman.

John Scurti

Role in The Irishman: Bertram B. Beveridge

Notable Roles: The Ref, War of the Worlds, Luke Cage, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Best Role: Lou from Rescue Me. God, I loved old Lou.

Steven Van Zandt

Role in The Irishman: Jerry Vale

Notable Roles: Lilyhammer, The Christmas Chronicles

Best Role: Silvo from The Sopranos, no question.

Welker White

Role in The Irishman: Josephine Hoffa

Notable Roles: Goodfellas, Dead Poets Society, Chasing Amy, Law & Order, Eat Pray Love

Best Role: Goodfellas is a close choice here: “I need it, I got to have it. It’s my lucky hat. I never fly without it.” But her phone call with De Niro in The Irishman wins out. Devastating.