John Turturro and Giancarlo Esposito reunited on screen at the New York Film Festival after years of wanting to work together again, a chance encounter in Italy sealed the deal.
Two new films starring John Turturro screened at this year’s New York Film Festival, and one of them brought him back together with longtime friend Giancarlo Esposito for the first time in decades.
USA TODAY reported that Turturro appears in both “A Statement” and “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” with the latter marking his reunion with Esposito. A post-film Q&A for the pickpocket movie was held Oct. 7. “A Statement” premiered Oct. 3.
The pair last costarred in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” in 1989 and “Mo’ Better Blues” in 1990. They had not shared a project since.
Esposito said the new collaboration started in a simple way. Turturro asked him in person at a fashion show in Italy, and he said yes on the spot.
At the Oct. 7 Q&A, Esposito described the long wait.
"We've been observing each other in life, and yearning to be together again,"
He added that the timing felt right.
"The way this happened was special: John asked me to do it when we ran into each other at a fashion show in Italy, and I immediately said, 'I'd love to. Let's figure it out.'"
Esposito also said that every time they see each other, “there’s a deeper bond that exists, whether we address it or not.” He tied that presence to New York itself, saying short moments with people in the city still feel real.
In “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” Turturro plays Harry, a thief whose skills no longer fit the city around him. Director Noah Segan, known for acting work in Rian Johnson’s films, framed the character as a man caught between eras.
Segan called Harry “someone who was straddling two worlds,” a person who has “spent their life honing a set of skills that are maybe not as useful as they once were, in a place where they should be the most useful.” Much of the film follows Harry’s commute across Manhattan and the outer boroughs by subway and bus. Segan mapped that route on a pinboard while building the story.
Esposito plays a detective who knows Harry well. Harry’s motive, as described in the coverage, centers on protecting his disabled wife. Tatiana Maslany, the “Orphan Black” actress, plays Harry’s estranged daughter and shares a tense reunion scene with Turturro.
To prepare, Turturro trained with magician and pickpocketing expert Apollo Robbins.
"His hands are like a concert pianist's,"
Turturro said. He added, “He can do anything. He would take my watch off every time I talked to him.”
Maslany also appears opposite Turturro in “A Statement,” where he plays a nuclear engineering expert and she plays an environmental lawyer. She said the contrast between his two characters stood out.
"It's just astonishing to me that the two characters [John plays] are so completely different,"
She noted they had not worked together before and were glad to get the day on set.
At the “A Statement” premiere, Turturro said he was “very appreciative” of having both films at the festival. “I’ve been on both sides: Being invited, not invited. So it’s great.”
On second chances more broadly, he was plainspoken.
"Not many people get second acts, second chances,"
He continued: “As you get older, you realize what it is to actually care about someone, or love someone, and what that means. There’s a sacrifice, and sometimes people discover that late in life.”
Old working friendships still matter in a business that often treats them as disposable. When two pros get another crack at it, the work usually shows why they waited.
