What You Never Knew About the Mob Classic ‘Goodfellas’

Al Pacino had just about perfected the art of playing mob royalty, thanks to his unforgettable run as Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy. So when Goodfellas came along and offered him the role of Jimmy Conway, he hesitated—not out of disinterest, but fear of being boxed in.

Typecasting loomed large, and Pacino passed, opting instead to play the cartoonish Big Boy Caprice in Dick Tracy. Years later, he admitted the regret. Goodfellas became a genre-defining masterpiece, and Jimmy Conway—a role that slipped through his fingers—became another jewel in Robert De Niro’s crown.