"The Alto Knights" Trailer: Robert De Niro Plays Dual Roles as Two Mob Legends in a Violent Power Struggle in Barry Levinson’s New Gangster Epic

Robert De Niro Takes on Dual Roles as Rival Crime Bosses in Barry Levinson’s New York Mob Epic

In Martin Scorsese's gangster epic The Irishman, Robert De Niro was digitally de-aged to play a character from his early 30s to late 80s. Did it work all the time? Well, let's just say digital effects have come a long way, but it's still hard to fool the eye of an older actor playing young. But whatever you think about the de-aging process in The Irishman, Robert De Niro has proven himself to be an experienced actor more than willing to experiment with effects to get the job done.

That brings us to De Niro's latest film project. It's another mob epic based on real-life figures in the mafia. But this time, De Niro isn't just playing one role—he's playing two. But they're not twins or related. Instead, he's portraying two different men, two rival crime bosses. De Niro is achieving this through physical prosthetic make-up effects, and the results are, again... hard to fool the eye. But we do love De Niro's everlasting desire to mix things up.

To get a look at what De Niro is doing with these two roles, feast your eyes on the official trailer for the upcoming New York mob drama The Alto Knights, in which the Oscar-winner plays Frank Costello, the Italian-American boss of the Luciano crime family, while also portraying Vito Genovese, the Italian-American boss of the Genovese crime family. These were two mob titans who, in the 1950s, fought over control of the streets of New York, ultimately leading to a deadly confrontation as they locked horns over the throne. What's interesting here is that Frank Costello and Vito Genovese started out as best friends, but over the decades, as they grew their respective mob empires, so did their ambitions to become the top boss. So, having De Niro play both characters could represent an escalating civil war between two men who very well could have been brothers. They could have ruled the underworld together, but ultimately, their jealousy dealt a blow to the American Mafia as we know it.

Joining De Niro in the cast is Debra Messing (Will & Grace) as Frank Costello's wife, Bobbie, while Kathrine Narducci (The Irishman) plays Vito Genovese's wife, Anna. Shogun breakout star Cosmo Jarvis costars as famed New York mobster Vincent "the Chin" Gigante, who worked under the Genovese crime family during the street war with Costello.

Rounding out the cast are Michael Rispoli (Billions), Michael Adler (Peppermint), Ed Amatrudo (Till), Joe Bacino (Kick-Ass), Anthony J. Gallo (The Irishman), Wallace Langham (Ford v Ferrari), Louis Mustillo (Mike & Molly), Frank Piccirillo, Matt Servitto (Billions), and Robert Uricola (Raging Bull).

The film is produced by Oscar-winning legendary producer Irwin Winkler (Rocky, Goodfellas) and written by acclaimed Goodfellas (Wiseguys) author and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Levinson directs and produces the upcoming film. The 82-year-old Levinson has a stellar filmography that includes Diner (1982), The Natural (1984), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Rain Man (1988), Bugsy (1991), and Wag the Dog (1997). Levinson also recently produced and directed episodes of the Emmy-winning Hulu miniseries Dopesick.

The Alto Knights is scheduled to open nationwide in theaters on March 21st.