Rod Steiger – “Al Capone” (1959) • Rod Steiger played Capone with deliberate showiness, from the roar of his voice to the tilt of hid fedora. Although he won a Laurel Award for his performance, Capone’s sister wasn’t crazy about the film – she sued the filmmakers for $10 million for invasion of privacy because they failed to get permission from the Capone estate to make it.
Jason Robards – “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” (1967) • Director Roger Corman was criticized for casting the slender Jason Robards as the stout Capone but the future “All the President’s Men” Oscar winner nailed the bad guy’s intimidating and volatile demeanor. Robards, wasn’t Corman’s first choice to fill the role, however… Orson Welles was.
Ben Gazzara – “Capone” (1975) • The second of three films Roger Corman produced about Capone, this one spattered heavily with blood, nudity and profanity, and one of many gangster projects produced after the wild success of “The Godfather: Part II.” Check out Gazzara’s
Robert De Niro – “The Untouchables” (1987) • Of all the actors who have portrayed Capone, Robert De Niro’s performance is probably the one best remembered by most. Ironically, he wasn’t the first actor cast in the Brian DePalma film. That honor went to British actor (and Capone lookalike) Bob Hoskins, who had already been paid $200,000 when the studio decided to go with De Niro. The Oscar-winner not only gained 30 pounds for the role, but he also wore the same style of silk underwear that Capone wore to, well, feel the part. Check out De Niro’s
Eric Roberts – “The Lost Capone” tv movie (1990) • Eric Roberts played Al Capone to Adrian Pasdar’s Jimmy Capone in this fictionalized telling of Scarface’s relationship with his older brother, who changed his last name to “Hart” and became a federal prohibition agent. Check out Roberts’
William Devane – “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” tv series (1994) • Thanks to a little DNA manipulation by a mad scientist, Capone is regenerated and set on taking over Metropolis like he took over 1930’s Chicago. Check out Devane’s performance
F. Murray Abraham – “Dillinger and Capone” (1995) • In Roger Corman’s third go at telling a story about the notorious mobster, “Amadeus” Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham played Capone to Martin Sheen’s John Dillinger in this imagined tale of the two gangsters teaming up to rob a bank. Abraham again played Capone in the film “Baby Face Nelson” the following year. Check out Abraham as Capone by clicking
Titus Welliver – “Mobsters” (1991) • A year after playing Al’s brother Ralph in “The Lost Capone,” Titus Welliver nabbed the role of Scarface himself in “Mobsters,” which tells the story of the rise of Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello and Bugsy Siegel. Los Angeles Times film critic Peter Rainer wrote, “Mobsters looks like it was made by people who have seen too many gangster films for people who haven’t seen any.” Check out Welliver’s
William Forsythe – “The Untouchables” tv series (1993-94) • In 1993, William Forsythe took on the role of Capone in a reboot of the popular TV series of the early ’60s, “The Untouchables.
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