Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman Casts Rapper Action Bronson

Action Bronson, star of VICELAND’s The Untitled Action Bronson Show, has an undisclosed role in the upcoming Netflix filmThe Irishman, according to Billboard. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, The Irishman tells the story of a master assassin whose hit list was buried for years. Frank Sheeran is the hitman who copped to the Jimmy Hoffa hit.

Scorsese’s adaptation of Charles Brandt‘s nonfiction 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses, about mob hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, has been in the works since 2010. The film marks the ninth collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro, who first worked together on the 1973 mob classic Mean Streets. The pair also collaborated on Taxi Driver, New York, New York, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and Casino.  This will be Al Pacino’s first Scorsese. The screenplay for The Irishman was written by Steve Zaillian.

The Irishman Cast

Netflix’s fact-based mob epic about Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, the presumed killer of Jimmy Hoffa, boasts an all-star Scorsese cast, Robert De Niro will play Frank Sheeran. Al Pacino will play Jimmy Hoffa. Joe Pesci will play Russell Bufalino, the head of the Bufalino Crime family. Sheeran fingered Bufalino as the boss who took out the contract on Hoffa.

Harvey Keitel will play Philadelphia crime boss Angelo “Gentle Don” or “Docile Don” Bruno. The film also reunited Scorsese with two stars of his HBO series Vinly. Bobby Cannavale, who also played Gyp Rosetti on the prohibition series Boardwalk Empire, will play Joseph N. Gallo, the consigliere of the Gambino Crime family. Ray Raymano will play Bill Bufalino.

Anna Paquin (True Blood, The Piano) will play Peggy Sheeran. Gary Basaraba (Suburbicon) will play Teamsters President Frank “Fitz” Fitzsimmons. Basaraba played Herb Rennet on Mad Men, and starred on Mixed Blessings. The fllm allso features Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire, Public Enemies), Jesse Plemons (The Post, Hostiles), and controversial rapper Action Bronson. Jack Huston, who played the disfigured doughboy sniper Richard Harrow, joins The Irishman as well. 

The Irishman Backstory

Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran was a union official at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters who was accused of having links to the Bufalino crime family. Sheeran is believed to be the triggerman behind the Crazy Joe Gallo hit at Umberto’s Clam House in New York’s Little Italy. Sheeran claimed to have been part of the anti-Fidel Castro forces involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion and that he knew intimate details about the Kennedy assassination, claiming it was a mob hit. Though he didn’t participate in it, he claims he transported rifles to the assassins through David Ferrie.

The phrase “I Heard You Paint Houses” is gangster slang for the blood splattered on walls in contract killings. Brandt befriended Sheeran shortly his death on December 14, 2003, in a nursing home near Philadelphia. Sheeran copped to being in on the Jimmy Hoffa hit, which was ordered by mob boss Russell Bufalino. Teamster leader Hoffa disappeared in 1975 and was never found. Sheeran claimed that it was Hoffa who wanted John F. Kennedy killed.

Fitz Fitzsimmons was Hoffa’s gopher at the Teamsters. He became the union leader when Hoffa went to prison for fraud, conspiracy and jury tampering. Fitzsimmons drove a bus before he started driving trucks for the the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Local 299 in Detroit. The local union’s president at the time was Jimmy Hoffa. Fitz was mocked and demeaned, but never bullied. He was fiercely loyal to the Brotherhood and was known for negotiating deals. Fitz was acting president of the Teamster from 1967 to 1971, and president from 1971 until his death in 1981. 

The Irishman was slated to be produced by Paramount and De Niro’s Tribeca Productions, but the deal fell through, possibly because Scorsese’s Silence, which was produced by the studio, had a weak box office opening. The upcoming mob film project is budgeted at $100 million, a lot of which will go to special effects that will make the actors appear younger for certain scenes.

The Irishman Release Date

There hs been no release date announced for The Irishman, but production is expected to start later this year.