After mentoring Johnny Depp in “Public Enemies,” veteran character actor James Russo has been tasked with bringing him to justice in Scott Cooper‘s Whitey Bulger movie “Black Mass,” TheWrap has learned.
Russo will play FBI agent Scott Garriola, one of the who took down Bulger, a notorious Boston gangster.
Garriola ran the FBI’s fugitive task force in Los Angeles when the agency apprehended Bulger, who was 80 years old at the time of his arrest.
Also read: James ‘Whitey’ Bulger Guilty: Inevitable Movie Gets Its Ending
Garriola testified: “He swore at us a few times. He told us [he] wasn’t going to get down on his knees. He said there was grease on the floor. There was harsh words back and forth. He finally got down on his knees and we handcuffed him.”
Eventually, Garriola asked Bulger to sign a consent form authorizing the FBI to search his Santa Monica apartment. “He said, ‘This is the first time I’ve signed this name in a long time: James J. Bulger.’”
Also read: Whitey Bulger Documentary From ‘Paradise Lost’ Director Acquired by Magnolia
Cooper (“Out of the Furnace”) is directing “Black Mass,” which marks Russo’s fourth movie with Depp following “Donnie Brasco,” “The Ninth Gate” and Michael Mann‘s “Public Enemies,” in which he played Walter Dietrich.
The Warner Bros. crime drama co-stars Joel Edgerton as friendly FBI agent John Connolly, Benedict Cumberbatch as brother Billy Bulger, Sienna Miller as girlfriend Catherine Greig and Jesse Plemons as right-hand Kevin Weeks.
The film’s impressive ensemble also includes Adam Scott, Dakota Johnson, Corey Stoll, Juno Temple, Jeremy Strong, Julianne Nicholson and W. Earl Brown.
Also read: Benedict Cumberbatch Replaces Guy Pearce Role in Johnny Depp’s Whitey Bulger Biopic
John Lesher and Cross Creek’s Brian Oliver are among the producers of “Black Mass,” which is currently shooting in Boston.
Russo recently co-starred in “Miss Bala” and played Dicky Speck alongside James Remar in Quentin Tarantino‘s hit spaghetti Western “Django Unchained.” He also runs Cyborg Productions.
Russo is represented by attorney Bob Myman.