Debra Messing: 'Alto Knights' character shields husband from mob violence

LOS ANGELES, March 20 (UPI) -- Debra Messing says her character in the historical drama The Alto Knights, in theaters Friday, was instrumental in keeping her husband, Frank Costello (Robert De Niro), at a distance from his New York mafia associates.

Messing plays Bobbie Costello, wife of the leader of the Luciano crime family after Lucky Luciano went to prison in 1936. Costello expanded the racketeering and bootlegging operations to legitimate businesses.

In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Messing discussed Bobbie's influence on Frank as portrayed in the film. The couple lived in Sands Point in Long Island at her suggestion.

"Bobbie was trying to get him to retire well before the beginning of this film," Messing said. "Getting that estate out in Long Island, it was an escape and it was a way to keep him insulated and keep them safe."

Bobbie's influence appears to have worked, as the real-life Frank died at the age of 82 in 1973. Bobbie's death is unconfirmed to be around the same time, but they remained married until death.

"He is the only mob boss to live 'til his natural death outside of prison," Messing said. "She was by his side the entire time."

Nevertheless, Frank could not avoid violence entirely. The film begins with him surviving a 1957 assassination attempt. The hit was ordered by Vito Genovese, whom De Niro also plays in the film.

"Once Vito came home and tried to kill him, the violence returned to the city," Messing said. "There was never any violence involved in the 15 years that [Frank] was in charge. The Five Families loved it because they were able to stay under the radar."

The story of the Costellos and Genovese was adapted by Nicholas Pileggi, the author and screenwriter of Goodfellas and Casino. Pileggi was interested in how the conflict between Frank and Genovese impacted the crime families.

"It's the end of the mob," Pileggi said. "Two guys brought it to an end. It was Vito Genovese and Frank Costello."

Pileggi said he discussed the Costello and Genovese story with director Barry Levinson and producer Irwin Winkler rather than beginning with a book, as he did with Goodfellas, based on his book Wiseguy, or Casino.

"I did the kind of research you would do for a book even though it was for a movie," Pileggi said. "I didn't need a book in the meantime. It would've just slowed us down."

Messing did her research on Bobbie as well. She read seven books about Frank Costello, and connected with Bobbie's nephew, Dudley Geigerman, through the Facebook page Uncle Frank's Place.

"I've done this kind of research when I've done plays," Messing said. "I did a film a long time ago with Richard Gere called Mothman Prophecy which was based on a true event. So I did research for that but nothing close to the kind of research done for this film."

As the film shows, Bobbie stuck to their social circles in Long Island, even when Frank had business in the city.

"Bobbie really enjoyed keeping the two lives that they shared separate," Messing said. "Frank would go downtown and Bobbie wouldn't go with him."

De Niro contributed a bit of his own experience to the film as well. The Alto Knights was the social club where Frank and Genovese socialized as teenagers, a place where De Niro spent time at in his youth.

"That's why it's the title of the movie," Winkler said. "As a 16, 17-year-old teenager, Bob De Niro hung around the Alto Knights social club so it was very dear to him because he met all the local gangsters in that circumstance."

Winkler, who suggested De Niro play both roles, joked that he only had to pay the actor once.

"I saved the salary on the other part," Winkler said.

Pileggi did not write the script with actors in mind, let alone the same actor in both roles. However, he agreed that both parts demanded an actor of De Niro's stature.

"It is a two hander," Pileggi said. "One guy wants to go one way. The other guy wants to go the other way and that conflict is what ends the mob. Those two characters were almost equal in importance."

As Bobbie, Messing only met De Niro playing Frank, but she made him laugh with one improvised line. At one of their Sands Point parties, Frank asks Bobbie to entertain a couple.

"I say, 'Well, hurry up. They're not a barrel of monkeys,'" Messing said. "I had looked up phrases from that era that were common. That was one of them."