Through his decades-long collaboration with Martin Scorsese, Joe Pesci has given audiences a handful of memorable characters.
Beginning with Joey Lamotta in Raging Bull, and continuing through with his Oscar-nominated performance as Russell Bufalino in The Irishman, the veteran actor has made a habit of commanding the screen when working with the revered filmmaker, and his performance as Nicky Santoro in Casino is no exception.
Arguably a spiritual successor to Scorsese’s Goodfellas in terms of narrative, characters, and thematic undertones, this 1995 crime-drama gave Pesci yet another opportunity to chew the scenery as an intimidating, violent, and downright nasty mafia henchman whose erratic behavior ultimately brought him to a grisly end.
But who was the real-life counterpart that inspired Pesci’s character?
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