Fans have gotten used to seeing Pete Davidson play a wide range of different characters thanks to his time on “Saturday Night Live.” That’s not to mention his parts in the film “The King of Staten Island” (2020) and on the show “Bupkis” (2023), as well as “The Suicide Squad” (2021), “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022) and “Meet Cute” (2022).
Granted, viewers may still be surprised to see a photo of the star in his new role, which shows him looking incredibly different as he portrays a polarizing real-life figure.
Pete Has Transformed into a New York City Mobster
“Davidson has a flair for the dramatics — and his new role as New York City mobster Tommy Pitera proves it,” according to Entertainment Weekly (EW).
“The Saturday Night Live alum is unrecognizable while sporting a new look in the first image from upcoming crime thriller Tommy Karate,” EW reported on Thursday, July 23 (you can see the pic above).
In the new photo, EW notes that “Davidson is wearing a wig of epic proportions along with what appears to be some facial prosthetics for the movie, which will turn him into the titular character.”
This Is Pete’s ‘Dream Job’ …But Who Is Tommy Karate?
GettyWhile fans may just be finding out about Davidson’s upcoming movie, he’s been “working on the project for more than three years,” Deadline reported in March, while noting that “[p]roduction [was] due to begin in June on crime-thriller Tommy Karate, which is inspired by a true story and based on the non-fiction true crime book The Butcher: Anatomy Of A Mafia Psychopath by Philip Carlo.”
“The film will chart the pursuit and capture of one of America’s most ruthless mobsters and serial killers by notorious DEA Agent Jim Hunt (who also helped take down El Chapo), played by Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird),” according to Deadline.
“Pitera was an American mobster in the Bonanno crime family of New York City,” Deadline explains. “Initially a ‘soldier’ and then a ‘captain’ of his own crew, Pitera was suspected by law enforcement of as many as 60 murders. He was known for his use of karate and other martial arts when fighting, a skill he learned at a young age and which earned him the nicknames Tommy Karate, and The Karate Guy.”
Davidson talked about the film, per Deadline, saying, “Tommy Karate is the greatest mob story never told. I’ve been working on this for over three years, and I’m beyond thrilled that it’s finally in motion. Playing a role like this is a dream job. We have a great team behind this one, and I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve come up with.”
As for who is on that team, “Camila Mendes (Masters of the Universe) and Simon Rex (Red Rocket) also star with Justin Chon (Pachinco) directing,” per Deadline. “North.Five.Six, Two & Two Pictures and Gramercy Park Media are behind the buzzy package,” while “[t]he screenplay was penned by Davidson, Chon, and Joseph Gay.”
