Robert De Niro’s new gangster movieThe Alto Knightsis garnering attention specifically for the actor’s double role as both of its protagonists. Thefilm stars De Niroas two crime bosses, Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, very often talking to each other in the same shot. While it’s skilfully directed by Barry Levinson and the technical team behind him, it’s hard not to feel that those involved in the project have gone out of their way to cast De Niro twice, a move that comes across as a cinematic gimmick that detracts from other aspects of the movie.
Indeed,The Alto Knights’s Rotten Tomatoes scoreshows it has divided critics and audiences, receiving mixed reviews precisely for the unnecessary effort it exerts cloning Robert De Niro into several scenes. As many critics have noted, surelythere are other actors of comparable experience and acting chopswho could have taken one of these two lead roles of De Niro’s hands. He may be one of the crime genre’s greatest-ever actors, but plenty of candidates are available who would have offered a more compelling matchup when it came tocastingThe Alto Knightsthan De Niro talking to himself.
5Armand Assante
As Vito Genovese
Armand Assante has quite the crime genre résumé, having become a mob boss specialist following his Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of Puerto Rican drug kingpin Bobby Tex in the 1990 movieQ & A. His two most celebrated performances are the title role of John Gotti in HBO’s 1996 TV movieGotti, which won him an Emmy Award, and his depiction of Dominic Gattano inRidley Scott’sAmerican Gangsteralongside Denzel Washington.
In 1992, Armand Assante starred as Carl “Dally” D’Allesandro in the crime biopicHoffa, which covers similar ground to Martin Scorsese’s Robert De Niro movieThe Irishman, but from the perspective of union boss Jimmy Hoffa.
Having spent the past 18 years since the latter role acting in low-budget flicks and movies made outside of the United States, Assante appears to be out of favor in Hollywood, with most studios likely of the opinion that his best days are behind him. But he has six years on Robert De Niro, andhis acclaimed work portraying some of New York’s most notorious crime bossessuggests that he’d make a more than convincing Vito Genovese.
4David Proval
As Frank Costello
Robert De Niro and David Proval go way back, having both starred in Martin Scorsese’s early masterpieceMean Streetsat the start of their careers. Since then, their careers have taken very different trajectories, but both have circled back to their starting points in the crime genre. It took Proval a little longer to get there than De Niro, but his underrated performance asRichie Aprile fromThe Sopranosdemonstrates that playing a gangster is what he does best.
Besides this role, Proval has had a distinguished career in both film and television, with parts inThe Shawshank RedemptionandEverybody Loves Raymondamong the highlights.Proval’s most recent role was as a mob bossin Cameron Van Hoy’s 2021 crime thrillerFlinch, proving that he’s still got the chops to go toe-to-toe with the likes of his old costar De Niro. Proval’s hard-talking, tough-guy persona would make the perfect Frank Costello to De Niro’s more softly-spoken Vito Genovese.
3Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is anotherMean Streetscast member who would have excelled in a head-to-head with Robert De Niro inThe Alto Knights. Of course, Keitel needs no introduction. His work opposite De Niro both in Martin Scorsese’s 1973 crime classic and in arguablyScorsese’s best movieof all,Taxi Driver, would be enough to qualify him for a lead role in Levinson’s new movie on its own. Throw in Keitel’s roles inThe Irishmanand Brian De Palma’sWiseguys, and he’s perhaps overqualified if anything.
Although he’s now 85 years old, Harvey Keitel is still as productive as ever, acting one action movie after another, with three more currently in the pipeline. He likely would have jumped at the chance to act opposite his old friend De Niro again, andhis physical likeness to Vito Genovesewould have meantThe Alto Knightsmakeup department could have saved some of their prosthetics budget.
2Andy Garcia
In the space of three years, via two of thebest crime movies at the end of the 1980s, Andy Garcia went from a bit-part actor to one of the foremost stars of the crime genre. While he’s generally avoided being typecast since his roles inThe UntouchablesandThe Godfather Part III,he’s still primed and ready to play a mobster whenever called upon,as his roles in 2014’sRob the Mob, Clint Eastwood’s 2018 crime movieThe Mule, and recent Paramount+ drama seriesLandmandemonstrate.
Although he’s actually of Cuban descent, Andy Garcia has played Italian or Italian-American characters on eight different occasions throughout his career.
Garcia is one of the few actors out there today from a younger generation than De Niro’s who could matchthe actor’s intimidating onscreen presence while he’s playing a mafioso. As with Keitel, a pair of Vito Genovese’s signature spectacles and Andy Garcia would be an excellent likeness for the real-life mafia don.
1Al Pacino
As Frank Costello Or Vito Genovese
Thanks to Martin Scorsese’sThe Irishman, we’ve now seen New Hollywood’s two most legendary actors, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, face off in two different movies.Pacino and De Niro’s first onscreen meeting inHeathad acquired an almost mythical status by the time Frank Sheeran met Jimmy Hoffa in Scorsese’s slow-burning Netflix crime epic.The Alto Knightscould have given us one last chance to see these titans of Italian-American cinema go head-to-head.
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De Niro and Pacino are even closer in age than Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, and both actors are equipped to play virtually any mobster role put in front of them, ranging from their respective parts in theGodfathertrilogyto De Niro’s comic turn inAnalyze This, and Pacino’s equally left-field portrayal “Big Boy Caprice” inDick Tracy. These two cinema legends could be left to sort out who would play whom inThe Alto Knightsamongst themselves, with Pacino a near-perfect fit for either Costello or Genovese.
