The scene in Casino, where Nicky Santoro, played by Joe Pesci, squeezes Tony Dogs’ head in a vice, was based on the real 1962 mob killing known as the M&M Murders, in which Billy McCarthy and James Miraglia - the “M&M Boys” - were killed under very similar circumstances.However, the event took place in Chicago, not Las Vegas. One night, Billy McCarthy was drinking at a bar run by Ronnie and Phil Scalvo, two brothers who had ties to the Chicago Outfit. McCarthy got drunk, argued with the brothers

In The Irishman (2019), Joe Pesci reportedly turned down the role of Russell Bufalino 50 times. It technicaly took Robert De Niro’s personal persuasion to secure the casting, a move that yielded an Oscar-nominated, career-defining performance.