Watch Your Wallet: John Turturro Turns Master Thief For Noah Segan’s Wistful Crime Thriller ‘The Only Living Pickpocket In New York’ — Sundance Q&A
If you run into John Turturro on the streets of Park City, you might want to keep your hands on your wallet or purse. He’s now a trained pickpocket on the lookout for opportunities to flex his new skills.
Turturro worked for months to learn the art and science of hands-on thievery while preparing to star in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, a crime thriller from writer-director Noah Segan, which premieres at the Eccles Theatre, as part of Sundance‘s Premieres lineup, on Tuesday.
Starring opposite Steve Buscemi, Giancarlo Esposito, Tatiana Maslany and more, Turturro plays Harry, a career pickpocket who rips people off to care for his ailing wife. He’s seemingly done so effortlessly for many years, but is forced into a desperate, high-stakes race against time through the streets of his city when he steals from the wrong guy.
A “multi-generational New Yorker,” Segan’s film is on one level, a romantic and ruminative portrait of New York — how the place has changed, and at the same time, almost never can. Juxtaposing the world of the old-school pickpocket with the tech-based world of modern crime, it’s also a propulsive Robert Mitchum-inspired noir about the codes we live by, and the good, bad guys we can’t help but love.
Segan and his Pickpocket producers, T-Street’s Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, come full circle this year at Sundance. 20 years ago, Segan was in Park City, sharing a bunkbed with Johnson and working the streets, handing out fliers, in hopes that someone would take notice of Johnson’s directorial debut Brick, where Segan stars alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Bearing similarities to Pickpocket as a hardboiled detective story, Brick of course went on to launch a major career for Johnson, after winning a prize for Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision and going on to release through Focus Features.
MRC produced Pickpocket alongside T-Street. In the following conversation — featuring some spoilers — Segan takes us back to his first Sundance experience, and what it’s meant to have the T-Street duo as constants throughout his career as an actor-filmmaker. Turturro joins him to talk about his preparation for The Only Living Pickpocket and the prospect of this film launching a new franchise à la Knives Out, as well as his own Sundance memories, his “intimate relationship” with the festival’s late founder Robert Redford, Severance Season 3, and more.
DEADLINE: Noah, where did the seed of this story come from? How long has the film been gestating?
NOAH SEGAN: I think the initial spark was just wanting to tell a New York story, a story about how New York has changed and yet kind of can’t change, how it’s sort of its own place. When my daughter was born nearly nine years ago, I I stayed home with her for the first year or so after my wife went back to work because, as John can attest, the life of a working actor, you’re on the road a lot. I didn’t want to be on the road; I wanted to be with my kid. And so while she napped, I wrote the script.
Then, we went and made the first Knives Out movie, and I had shared the script with Rian, and while we were shooting that movie, at some point, Rian said, “You know, if this movie goes well, maybe we’ll start a company, and maybe this is the kind of thing we could we could do with the company. I don’t know, let’s see how it goes.” And here we are, about eight years later.
DEADLINE: What went into building the character of Harry on the page?
SEGAN: I think Harry is a hero in the sense that, if you’re a writer, he’s the guy you want to write, and if you’re an audience, hopefully he’s a guy you want to watch. The idea was to sort of imbue all the things that you love about this city, and about criminals, and the good, bad guys that you love, and just start piling it on.
DEADLINE: John, what excited you about this script? What were your first impressions?
JOHN TURTURRO: Well, I was reading a lot of scripts. I guess it was in ’24, right before we did it. Someone told my agent, “You’re going to really like this script.” I don’t know who it was — one of the people involved, maybe from MRC. And when I read it, I was really surprised. It was better than any script I read that year, by far. My agent, who’s very critical, Christina Bazdekis, she felt the same way, and we were like, “Wait a second, let’s read it again. Let’s see if it holds up again.” And we did. And I was like, wow, this is a really wonderfully crafted story, with complex characters. And of course, it recalled certain old movies that I love, like Out of the Past, film noir films, also films like The Friends of Eddie Coyle. Of course, both are with Robert Mitchum. So, then we met with T-Street and and with Noah, and he gave me all these books on pickpockets. One book… What was the book, the guy who wrote The Sting?
SEGAN: David Maurer, he wrote this book called Whiz Mob. He was a sociologist, and he wrote what is the only academic text on pickpocketing. I think he only wrote three or four books, but they were all done from the perspective of treating various kinds of criminology as if they [were], which they are, a science and an art.
TURTURRO: He interviewed a lot of these people, too. I mean, he had hands-on experience…
SEGAN: Which is not easy to find, to get these guys on record, which was very important when John found Apollo [Robbins].
TURTURRO: There are people in his family who do all these things, and he’s a performance artist pickpocket. His wife’s a mentalist, and he’s just brilliant and sort of taught me the basics of how to [pickpocket]. Then, I’d go on subways and I was really tempted a lot.
SEGAN: There were days where I would see John or he would call me and go, “You know, I was on the 2 Train, just coming back from a game, and I saw somebody and I just thought, you know, I could. [Laughs] I didn’t! But I could…
TURTURRO: I only stole from people on the set. I did that as a daily occurrence.
SEGAN: He picked my mom’s pocket. [Laughs]
DEADLINE: This character feels literary to me, like someone you’d find in a hard-boiled novel. Could you expand on your references when it came to Harry and this story?
SEGAN: John and I very quickly connected on Mitchum — and not just his choices as an actor, but the essence of Mitchum was something that we talked about. We talked a lot about Sweet Smell of Success…I mean, there’s all the hallmarks of that stuff. As far as literary, I’m a big Charles Willeford fan, Elmore Leonard, and obviously Hammett and Chandler. The idea of the anti-hero in the guise of a very capable, wily guy, was what I was trying to embody, and then you go, okay, who can do that? And really, there’s only one guy, and it’s John.
TURTURRO: Well, I don’t know about that, but I’m definitely a big Mitchum fan. I loved that [Mitchum biography] Baby I Don’t Care. There’s just something kind of vulnerable about the guy — he was confident but insecure, and there’s a delicacy within this big hulking man. I just thought Noah brought a lot of nuance to it. So then I did my own personal research. Noah and I had a long prep time; it was four months or something like that. It was a beautiful experience because I think everyone has kinds of codes, even certain criminals. [Harry’s] a person who’s made so many mistakes and is trying to rectify or come to terms with that as he’s aging, and I think there’s something really potent about the themes that Noah embodied.
DEADLINE: Are you someone who goes deep into character backstory in prep?
TURTURRO: I like doing it, just as a student. If I have like a year to do it, it’s great for me. You’re doing it and then you’re connecting to the creator, and if you guys are seeing it together, it’s just endless. And it depends if something’s rich. But we had a really good amount of time. I think that really helped us.
SEGAN: I think John and I both come from a perspective where you’re looking at the page, and whether you’re the writer or the performer, the director, everybody should be asking why. Why is this happening? Then, it’s the script’s job and the writer’s job to go, “Well, why do you think it’s happening?” Or, “I’ll tell you why it’s happening.” A lot of it is just sort of that natural conversation, and then when you have those conversations, you end up with a story. It’s part of the fun.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
DEADLINE: The way you juxtaposed the world of the old-school pickpocket with the tech-based world of modern crime was very interesting. How much did you get into researching the contemporary side of things? I’d never heard of the term “currency locker” before watching this.
SEGAN: There’s a famous story that I think is still going on: There’s a guy who’s been sifting through a landfill for the last nine years because he lost his USB drive that had what is now hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency on it. Somebody had thrown it away, or he had recycled it, and now he’s at this landfill all day, searching through it. So stuff like that, of course, I find very funny. And you know, I did my research, in terms of the technical aspect of it. But really, even regular people now, it’s like you go places and you’re not pulling out cash. You’re just swiping your card to get on the subway. You’re doing all that. So it was just sort of already there, you know?
DEADLINE: Tell us more about how you wanted to represent New York as a character in this film, and how you thought through mapping out the logistics of Harry’s journey through the city. He really gets around…
SEGAN: Well, I will say this much. I think there’s a lot of very worthwhile attention placed on Harry’s skills in this movie, and they’re almost superhuman, right? It’s almost unnatural, how well this guy can do what he does. But what is truly superhuman is being able to get from Queens back up to the Bronx in like 45 minutes. No one on earth has done that except for Harry; he knows exactly what train to get on and exactly when it’s going to stop.
You know, it was funny. Originally, I just started writing. I just wrote what I knew, as a multi-generational New Yorker. I just wrote the city, and then that became, “Well, we’re going to three boroughs. Well, we’re going to four boroughs. Well, we’re scouting Staten Island. So I guess we’re going to all five boroughs.” It sort of became like a Pokemon game. Like, you’ve just got to catch ’em all. We would scout these locations, and then just, it’s New York: You’ve got to meet it where it is. It doesn’t meet you, man. You’ve got to come to it.
We shot a mile away from the [place] I was born. We shot on the block I grew up on, on 26th Street. John, did you ever actually bike to work?
TURTURRO: I don’t know.
SEGAN: You kept saying… We were terrified because we were like, “Oh, God, John’s going to bike to work.” But he could bike to work! He could.
TURTURRO: New York is a very strange place because it’s all these islands, basically, and they’re worlds unto their own. So people who live in Queens, there are people [for whom] that’s like living in Iowa, to go to Manhattan. You know what I mean? I think Noah was precise about all of that, and that train travel. And if the train gets stuck, you’re stuck, you know? He’s a public transportation guy.
DEADLINE: The title of the film is nicely evocative — obviously, alluding to an iconic song from Simon & Garfunkel. What about it felt right to you, Noah?
SEGAN: Obviously, two great New Yorkers, Simon & Garfunkel. Another great son of Queens, Paul Simon. I think the sort of wistfulness of the song really always spoke to me. There’s something romantic about it, but at the same time, it’s sad and reflective and sensitive — and controversial in my house. We were not allowed to listen to Simon & Garfunkel in my in my house growing up because my mother claims that in 1973, when she was pregnant with my brother, Art Garfunkel stole a cab from her in the rain on Worcester Street. And she has never forgiven him.
DEADLINE: Noah, you’ve been friends with T-Street’s Rian Johnson for decades and have worked together going back to his debut feature — another Sundance title, Brick... Talk about that relationship and having that as as a constant as you’ve moved through your career.
SEGAN: 20 years ago, we were also in a house in Park City that was not nearly as nice. [Laughs] We were sleeping on bunk beds. We drove ourselves out, I think, to save money. But yeah. I mean, just be lucky enough to find people that you love and hang on to them. That’s it. And trust them. Be in friendships that are based on trust. In this movie, we talk a lot about that — about “the code.” You know, people who work in show business, the movies, arts, we have a code, too. It’s like joining the circus, and you find your people, you find your circus troupe. And here we are.
DEADLINE: John, you and co-star Steve Buscemi also go back decades. Do you know one another well on a personal level?
TURTURRO: Yeah. We actually grew up, once I moved from Hollis to Rosedale, in neighborhoods that were adjacent, even though we didn’t know each other then. But I met Steve in the ’80s. I didn’t meet him in Miller’s Crossing — even though we were lovers, we never had a scene together, which is a big flaw. I’ve said this publicly for many years. But we became friendly, and then we worked on Barton Fink, and then we did Lebowski. Steve’s a wonderful actor. He’s really deep; he’s a beautiful guy. I know his whole family. Giancarlo [Esposito], I feel very close to, too. So this was great. I had relationships with both of them already. Tatiana [Maslany], I didn’t, but I did meet her and we talked about doing something. I really love her work, and I have to throw a special shout-out to her because what she did in less than a day’s work… You know, I don’t get surprised that easily, and I was just like, wow. She brought a whole life in on scene. So you’re as good as your partners; that’s it. That’s what it’s about.
DEADLINE: As this year marks the final edition of Sundance in its longtime hub of Park City, let’s talk about some of your favorite memories from the festival. I imagine you’ve both stopped in a number of times over the years.
TURTURRO: I haven’t been there in a long time, but I was there very early on. I think I was the first sort of guinea pig — I was the first person to be awarded the Piper-Heidsieck Award. I don’t know what year that was, 1990 or something. I was like, why are they giving me this thing, as a young actor? [But] my first film was there, and of course, I knew [Robert] Redford and met him many times. We had a very intimate relationship. We worked for a long time; we did Quiz Show, and then afterwards, we continued that. He was a really beautiful guy, and I’m not saying that because he’s passed. We had a wonderful relationship and he did a lot of things for me and was a real sort of mentor to me. I never thought I would get along so well with Robert Redford; I thought we’d be so different. And I just think he did a lot of great things for people. I know his family and I’ve been to these things for him over the years, so I’m really happy to be here this year. It means a lot to me.
SEGAN: Like I said, the last time I was here 20 years ago…
DEADLINE: You’ve only been here that one time?
SEGAN: That was the last time, yeah. It was the first movie I was ever in, and we were handing out flyers on the street, trying to get people to come see our movie. It was mind-blowing that anybody would give a sh*t. [Laughs] You know what I mean? And then you’re like, wait a minute, I’m actually surrounded by a whole bunch of people who are just like me. You know, that’s the thing. That’s sort of the story of what we’re all trying to do, is fall into places where you feel like, wait a minute, I didn’t know this was home.
DEADLINE: Did you intend the film to be open-ended? That was how I took it. And I really felt that you might have a franchise on your hands, akin to Knives Out, should you want to pursue that. It’s a great character and a fun world to explore.
TURTURRO: I’m with you, Matt. I’m with you.
SEGAN: Let’s do it! Let’s go do another one.
TURTURRO: It’s really rich, that’s for sure. So that’s cool that you thought that. Wow.
SEGAN: Listen, writing can fix anything!
DEADLINE: John, I have to ask — Severance is reportedly going back for production on Season 3 this spring. Is that true? Have you heard anything from the team?
TURTURRO: I know they’re writing it; that’s all I know. They haven’t talked to me yet, but hopefully they will.
DEADLINE: Irving’s another great character — I certainly hope to see more of him.
TURTURRO: Yeah. He must have his own private life; I wonder what he does outside…
SEGAN: John, you think they would let me direct an episode where we find you living in New York as a small-time crook?
TURTURRO: As Irving? As a small-time crook? [Or where Irving’s] ripped off by Harry? If I could play Harry and Irving together, that would be okay. [Laughs] “I thought he was my friend…”
