8 Real-Life Gangsters Who Appeared In Famous Gangster Movies (2024)

There have been several real-life gangsters who appeared in some of the most famous gangster movies in film history. While the full extent of actual mafia members turned Hollywood actors remains clouded in mystery for obvious reasons, there are still a number of established characters who appeared onscreen in some of the greatest mafia or gangster movies ever made. Mafia and gangster films have essentially become their own type of genre, producing some of the most prestigious examples of modern film and television with masterpieces such as Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather and Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.

Several prominent actors and celebrities who haven't been featured in gangster movies have still had known ties to the mafia and related gangs, the most famous of which include Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. A character in The Godfather was actually loosely based on Sinatra, although the wildly famous singer and actor naturally denied his involvement with the mafia for years. Sinatra's FBI file was eventually released following his death in 1998, which confirmed that the actor/singer was good friends with several of the most prominent real-life gangsters who ever lived. Here are more examples of real-life mobsters who appeared on the big screen.

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8 Lenny Montana (The Godfather)

Lenny Montana is one of the most well-known former mobsters to appear in a gangster movie. Montana actually had a very memorable role in The Godfather as Luca Brasi, the nervously massive gun-for-hire who was loyal to the Corleone family. Brasi first appears in the opening moments of The Godfather, stumbling over his lines as if he weren't an actual actor because he was not an actual actor. Montana was a real-life mob enforcer for the Colombo family who was on the set of the movie to make sure that the word "mafia" was never said in front of the camera, according to The Vintage News.

7 Tony Sirico (The Sopranos)

Tony Sirico was one of the only actors to appear in The Sopranos, The Godfather Part II (as an uncredited extra), and Goodfellas, hitting the mobster trifecta. It's no wonder how the actor was able to pull off such convincing performances in iconic works of the gangster genre considering that he had 28 arrests and two convictions before he rose to fame as an actor. Sirico was a known associate of the Colombo crime family in Brooklyn, New York during the 60s and 70s who apparently turned down the opportunity to officially become a made man.

6 Gianni Russo (The Godfather)

Gianni Russo is best known onscreen for his role as Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather, the abusive husband to Connie who eventually sold Sonny out to rival gangs which resulted in his swift and brutal death. In real life, Russo admitted in 2020 that he was a former associate of mob boss Frank Costello starting at the age of 13. Russo claims himself to have been associated with the mafia since 1955 where he began his affiliation mostly as an errand boy known by Costello and his associates as "The Kid."

5 Alex Rocco (The Godfather)

Alex Rocco, famous for portraying the infamous Moe Greene in The Godfather, who was a Las Vegas casino owner in the movie who refused to sell his casino to Michael Corleone. Of course, Corleone wasn't a fan of his answer and ultimately had him killed. Rocco, whose real name was Alexander Federico Petricone, was considered to have been a real-life member of the Mafia before appearing in the greatest gangster movie of all time.

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4 James Caan (The Godfather)

While James Caan was never officially named a made man or is explicitly linked to the mafia in an official sense, there have been valid allegations made against him regarding his association with the Colombo crime family. Former mobster Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano told The Megyn Kelly Show [via The Daily Mail] that Caan was a known associate with the mob and had to ask permission from them in order to appear in The Godfather.

According to Gravano himself, "I was there when he came down and asked permission to be in that movie. I was there with Carmine Persico. Joe Colombo gave him the role. He was connected with the Colombo family." Caan has never officially confirmed or denied his alleged involvement with the mob and never openly spoke about it to the public, however his performance in The Godfather certainly makes it seem like he knew a thing or two about the authentic mobster lifestyle at the time.

3 Michael Squicciarini (The Sopranos)

Michael Squicciarini briefly appears in The Sopranos season 2 as an enforcer named “Big Frank” Cippolina. Squicciarini is a formidable 6'5" man who weighs more than 300 pounds, making him hard to miss even as an extra in the show. While the actor's time in the limelight was brief, he knew he always had his life of organized crime to fall back on which ended up being his demise. Squicciarini was implicated after his death in a gang-related murder after he was recognized from his appearance in the Sopranos, according to Paste Magazine.

2 Anthony Borgese (The Sopranos)

Anthony Borgese, who goes by the name Tony Darrow professionally, was known to be close friends with two established mobsters, Paul Vario (who inspired the character of Paul in Goodfellas) and John Gotti, the notorious gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family. Tony Darrow's own father was a known gangster in the Brooklyn area and was the reason why he got into a life of organized crime at a young age. Darrow was charged with extortion in 2009 for his connection in an assault that was orchestrated by the Gambino crime family. Tony Darrow confessed to the crime in 2011 and was sentenced to three years in prison.

1 Al Martino (The Godfather)

Al Martino played Johnny Fontane in The Godfather, the character that was loosely inspired by the real-life Frank Sinatra. Martino himself was an actual singer-turned-actor much like Sinatra who was able to use his association with the mob to land a part in the coveted film. While Martino wasn't actually considered a real-life gangster, he was in very deep with the mob who had acquired the rights to his contract after his 1952 hit single "Here in My Heart." According to Far Out Magazine, Frank Sinatra himself wanted to have the film's production halted because he was upset with the casting of Martino. Even though he wasn't a true gangster, Martino felt the pressure of the real-life mob perhaps more than most, caught in the crossfire of the facts and fiction surrounding the exceptional gangster movie.

Source: The Vintage News, Paste Magazine, Daily Mail, Far Out Magazine