John Turturro Will Pick Your Pocket and Steal Your Heart

If it seems like no one else could play the role John Turturro plays in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, you can imagine the angst writer-director Noah Segan felt when he sent the screenplay to the actor hoping for a “yes.” Turturro brings world-weariness, tenderness, and New York City street smarts to his turn as Harry, a career criminal whose way of life is disappearing in a cashless, electronic, often colder world. The character may steal to put food on his table, but he’s also loyal and honest in his own way, caring for a permanently disabled wife and practically a saint when compared with the tech-enabled, mafia nepo baby (Will Price) he makes the mistake of stealing from, setting off the movie’s drama and putting his life in jeopardy.Turturro, who has been a ubiquitous presence in film, TV, and theater for decades, truly seems to be everywhere these days—in an acclaimed production heading for Broadway, in Severance, whose fans eagerly await a fourth season, in the forthcoming climate-change dramedy A Statement from Spotlight director Tom McCarthy, and of course anywhere the Knicks are. With Pickpocket, he could very well land his first Oscar nomination in a career full of performances that have certainly qualified for consideration, from Barton Fink to Quiz Show to more Spike Lee films than any other actor has appeared in. Ahead of the theatrical release of The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, which hit theaters nationwide on Oct. 30, Turturro spoke to TIME about how his hometown has changed, his love for collaborators old and new, and his nerves heading into this year’s NBA season.Giancarlo Esposito and John Turturro in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York Courtesy of Sony Pictures ClassicsNoah Segan said that when he came to meet you, “We had some soup and fell in love.” Did you need to be convinced to take the part?I read so many scripts, and so many of them are derivative. Sometimes they're just violent for violence's sake. Someone's seen you do something, and they say, "Well, he could do this.” I said, "Is this as good as I think it is?” I was struck by the structure of it, because I love Greek plays. I love that Aristotelian 24-hour time frame, when something has tension and propulsive movement, an odyssey to survive in a short time, and then it's juxtaposed with this tenderness and the specificity of language. I met Noah, and I liked him. He's a gentle guy, but he has a backbone. When Noah gave me the script, it's like a gift. You want to reciprocate. You want to surprise that person.Harry is a criminal, but he operates by a code. He’s true to his word. He’s loyal to his wife. Do you see him as an antihero? I just try to play a person. I’ve read about a lot of these guys. They were from broken homes, orphanages. They didn’t have a family, so they formed this little family with other people who didn’t want to hurt people. Even though it is a violation, it was nonviolent. It was like a magic trick. They’re taking something. But there’s a lot of people who pick our pockets every day. And they take our world sometimes. Everything changes. You walk down Bleecker Street, all these theaters, nightclubs are gone. It’s CVS. Ethnic neighborhoods aren’t there anymore. It takes away from the texture of a neighborhood. The thing I miss is things being affordable. When I was young, even if I sat in the back, I could see anyone. Jimi Hendrix at the Electric Circus. Colleen Dewhurst or George C. Scott. I got an education that way, while I was getting a [formal] education, and it opened up my horizons of thinking someday I could make a living doing this. The city also feels different from decades past because we’re all staring down at our phones instead of looking at each other as we walk down the street.There's so many people. We're all going somewhere. And there's plenty of people that aren't there. There's a lot of people gone now from all different generations, and you're more and more surrounded by ghosts. In my phone, I don't take people out because maybe I need the number in the afterlife or something. You just understand that there is a clock to our lives, and what you give is also important. It's not just what you take, and I believe in that. The movie was filmed in every borough, right? It doesn’t feel like a gimmick, but something that could plausibly happen in this character’s life.The guy is sort of a superhero. He knows the transit lines, the buses, the subways. He doesn't take Ubers. I take subways and I walk everywhere. I love it when I go to an event and everyone's sharing that on the train. It’s kind of about the underbelly, the people keep the city humming. Even though this is not a film about the working class, it is, sort of. The elevator doesn't work. The heat isn't so great. These are real problems, and those people sometimes are not explored as much.Turturro as Harry and Karina Arroyave as his wife Rosie Courtesy of Sony Pictures ClassicsThere’s a wonderful scene where Harry dances to the song “Native New Yorker” for his wife Rosie, who is disabled and non-verbal. Was that improvised? I like to dance. I studied dance. In my household, everybody was dancing, three boys, my mom was a great dancer. I used to go out dancing to that song. When people are incapacitated, you play music, you sing, you dance. It’s a love scene. Movement, especially when it’s not overly choreographed, brings joy. Even in intense stories, people stop to do things. They stop to eat. They stop to have a laugh. You go way back with two of your co-stars, Giancarlo Esposito, who plays a detective who’s almost like a colleague of Harry’s, and Steve Buscemi, who owns the pawn shop where he brings his stolen wares. How did that come about? Did you suggest them? Yeah, we talked about it, and I asked Giancarlo to read it. And Steve and I know each other. We've been neighbors. He's a beautiful guy. He's a beautiful actor. We have a history there, so it's not like we have to invent that. So that was helpful in the movie.You and Tatiana Maslany, who’s also in this film, just finished the play Rhinoceros together. Do you like to get back to the theater every once in a while to sort of sharpen the tools? That’s where I come from. I love the rehearsal process, if it’s a very open one, which we did in Rhinoceros with [director] Diane Paulus. We explored everything. It’s exhausting, I don’t want to do a run for half a year. But I love doing things that young people can come to and afford. It’s real teamwork, and I think it’s kept me fresh for doing film work. It’s humbling, and it’s nerve-racking, and it’s also exhilarating when you’re able to keep your balance.There’s so much love for your character Irving on Severance. And fans really obsess over this show with conspiracy theories. Have you been a part of something like that before? I love Irving too. I have enjoyed working with the entire group, and especially with the apple of my eye, Chris [Walken]. Severance poses questions of work life, personal life. Maybe it resonates in the world. Maybe even more now with all this AI stuff. I think one of the strengths of the show is that it poses these questions and doesn’t answer them. When you answer it, it’s not as satisfying as figuring it out.As a prominent Knicks fan, how are you feeling about this season? I feel hopeful. I’m not overconfident. It was beautiful how they all coalesced. I treasure being a fan and a season-ticket holder. I’m still soaking it all in. My favorite thing was coming home on the train, everyone just being in shock. It’s great when people come together.