by Adam Blake
Finding a movie with a casino scene is not a difficult task, it is something you find very common in any movie genre. You get to see your favourite actors play and win at Wheelz Casino and draw cards with some attention-grabbing charisma. What else is more enjoyable than watching people gamble in a casino than in a movie scene; One thing is sure, you won’t forget that easily.
Actors appear in casino scenes for different reasons, while some run the full casino place themselves, others are either trying to catch a criminal in one or are the gamblers themselves. Casino-themed movies are not always serious, you could find some that are pretty much great for comedy relief and some, well, quite intense.
Nevertheless, what makes a great Casino-themed movie is the producers, directors, a good scriptwriter, a great movie set-up, and of course a talented actor to give life to the character. Let’s check out some outstanding characters who have had remarkable times playing in multiple casino-related movies.
JOE PESCI
First on our list is none other than Big Joe himself; he is one of those unique actors who can fit into any role easily. He has a great ability to transform completely into a new character, leaving behind the old one like they never met. He acted as a problematic hitman named Nicky Santoro in Casino and he was later seen in Lethal Weapon from 2 to 4 as the character Leo Getz.
Many have said that Joe was probably born to carry the characters of a ruffian, mobster, or general violent roles due to how well he delivers. It gets shocking to see him in other movies with unrelated storylines.
ROBERT DE NIRO
This list would be incomplete without a mention of one of Hollywood’s greatest actors. Robert has a lot of blockbuster movies and it is honestly rare to see him in casino-related movies but the way he delivered his role in the only two Casino-themed movies he acted in stood him out as a talented actor. Robert De Niro starred in the movies Casino in 1995 and Last Vegas in 2013. That was almost a decade apart but the star didn’t deliver anything less.
Casino, since its release in 1995 has been considered to be an all-time best movie. Directed by Martin Scorsese, it was the description of what power, deception, and greed can do.
Last Vegas, on the other hand, focuses on four childhood friends who had their friendship tested by the glamorous living in Sin City.
BRAD PITT
When you talk about great movie stars of the 21st century, Brad cannot be set aside. From his appearance in The Ocean’s trilogy and Killing Them Softly, the actor sealed his talent as being able to deliver any character.
Brad in the trilogy of Ocean’s played the character Rusty Ryan, who was Danny Ocean’s right-hand man. He was in charge of taking care of the logical requirements of their activities as the skilled planner that his character was. In the movie, Brad’s character eats a lot of fast food, which is a common trait for characters that play hackers and planners in movies.
Brad played a mobile enforcer character named Jackie Cogan in Killing Them Softly and was in charge of finding out and eliminating crooks that rob a card game place.
GEORGE CLOONEY
George was cast in Ocean’s Eleven, but after the success of the movie in 2001, he again was casr in the next two parts of the movie franchise in 2004. This Casino-themed franchise was a blockbuster and gained popularity all over the world. The face of the handsome George Clooney wasn’t missed throughout the three parts of the movie which showed how important his character was to the storyline.
In Ocean’s Eleven, George Clooney who played the main character named Danny Ocean led a group of criminals who the story was about to rob three casinos in Las Vegas simultaneously. In Ocean’s Twelve, his character yet again brought together his group alongside a recruit to rob three casinos in Europe simultaneously.
In Ocean’s Thirteen, another robbery was done in a casino owned by someone who was stabbed in the back in the first part of the movie.
JULIA ROBERTS
Known as America’s Sweetheart, Julia is uniquely talented and remains one of the highest-paid actresses today. She appeared in both Ocean’s Eleven and Twelve playing the role of Danny Ocean’s wife. Her character, Tess Ocean, was the curator of an art gallery. She left Danny in Ocean’s Eleven when she was unknowingly part of the first robbery. However, she reunites with Danny before the end of the movie and is fully a member of Ocean’s Twelve.
RAY LIOTTA
After playing a real-life character named Henry Hill in Goodfellas, Ray was identified as a tough guy. He appeared in three casino-themed movies; Killing Them Softly in 2013, Revolver in 2005, and Phoenix in 1998.
Ray played the character Harry Collins who was a cop with a huge debt from gambling and casinos, only to clear it by killing an informant in Phoenix. He turned things around by instead choosing to rob a loan shark and taking it off with a bartender named Leila.
In Revolver, he played Dorothy Macha who was out to get a gambler who had humiliated him during a private casino game. Things get pretty interesting when the movie shows Jake Green who was being hunted by Dorothy, making his plans of eliminating Dorothy as well.
Playing the role of Markie in Killing Them Softly, Liotta was a victim of a robbery done by the thugs being hunted by the character played by Brad Pitt.
Wonderful characters grace the screen of Hollywood playing gamblers in movies with a casino storyline.
