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Bad things happen when gangsters play actors

by Leo Shanahan

14 Mar 05:40am

Filed under: Actors, Crime, Movies, Television, The Mafia, The Sopranos, The Wire

17 comments

The relationship between actors and the parts they play is an odd one.

Snoop being arrested by Baltimore's finest. Picture: AP

Directors in the pursuit of authenticity in their production often cast characters pulled from the same streets, and sometimes with associations to the same criminal societies from which they draw their artistic inspiration. When these actors start getting into trouble for much the same things as their characters did, it poses an interesting question: which came first, the actor or the gangster?

Here’s a few notable examples of actors turned gangster, or is it the other way around?

The Wire’s Felicia “Snoop” Pearson

Continue reading "Bad things happen when gangsters play actors" »

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Amy Sturt says:

02:00pm | 15/03/11

Firstly, casting real life versions of characters is the refuge of a lazy director with a budget problem… They are usually described as, “visionary” afterwards. That said, Matthew Newton does not belong in this article. He’s your stereotypical deeply troubled acTOR. It’s hardly a new persona and it’s why the… Read more »
Amanda says:

09:21pm | 14/03/11

I too normally hate cop/robber/mafia/mob movies, but I have watched The Departed hundreds of times, and could watch it hundreds more times, absolutely fantastic movie. (im not a fan of Leo either, but he is really pretty great in that movie) Read more »

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