Chazz Palminteri is known for his role as Sonny in the 1993 A Bronx Tale, a gangster-coming-of-age film based on his solo act play of the same name.
Following the successful film adaptation of his play, where he excelled starring across Robert De Niro, Palminteri began to find success in Hollywood film roles.
He played mobster Paul Castellano in Boss of Bosses, Angelo Bruno in Legend, Cheech in Bullets over Broadway, Primo Sidone in Analyze This, and more.
Many of his parts have been smaller supporting characters, Chazz Palminteri always brings strong presence to crime gangster films.
6Ray Liotta
Scorsese’s Henry Hill.
While Ray Liotta would never match up to Henry Hill in Goodfellas, he still had a successful career and found his way back in the crime genre multiple times. Henry Hill is an incredible role, and Liotta brings a unique likability to the character as he’s more of a low-level wannabe compared to the calculating mob boss leads the genre usually explores. On top of Goodfellas, Ray Liotta played drug kingpin Syd White in Cocaine Bear and “Hollywood Dick” Moltisanti in The Many Saints of Newark.
5Joe Pesci
The funny gangster.
With an Academy Award-winning performance in Goodfellas headlining Joe Pesci’s most iconic roles, he would already be mentioned among the great gangster actors. However, he also played gangsters in the Scorsese films The Irishman and Casino, as well as a powerful criminal in Once Upon a Time in America. Pesci’s gangster roles have primarily been in supporting performances, but he brings something memorable to each one. No one could forget the iconic “Funny how? Funny like a clown?” scene from Goodfellas.
4Humphrey Bogart
The Film Noir star made some great gangster films.
Humphrey Bogart is known widely as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema. His career isn’t primarily known for the gangster genre, as many of Humphrey Bogart’s best films are in the noir genre, but he’s made enough contributions to the genre to count. Bogart offered a moral complexity to his gangster roles in films like High Sierra, where he played Roy Earle, giving a profound performance that solidified him as a Hollywood star. He also starred in ’30s gangster films like The Roaring Twenties and Invisible Stripes.
3James Cagney
One of Hollywood’s earliest tough guys.
James Cagney is another classic film actor who made a monumental impact on the gangster genre. Cagney played gangsters in prominent films like The Roaring Twenties, where he starred alongside Humphrey Bogart. He also starred in The Public Enemy, Angels with Dirty Faces, and White Heat and was known for popularizing the ruthless, tough-talking gangster archetype.
2Al Pacino
Tony Montana and Michael Corleone.
Al Pacino is neck-and-neck with Robert De Niro as the best gangster actor in movies, as The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are still considered among the best movies ever made. Aside from The Godfather films, Pacino has only had a few gangster roles in Scarface, Carlito’s Way, and Donnie Brasco. His resume of crime films is legendary, but while only counting the movies where he plays a gangster, De Niro has a slight edge. Al Pacino is still one of the greatest actors of all time, and the role of Michael Corleone has inspired villain performances for decades following it.
