Joe Pesci Wonderful" (1982), "Easy Money" (1983) and "Eureka" (1983). In 1984, he was cast in "Once Upon a Time in America", again appearing alongside De Niro. The following year he starred as private detective Rocky Nelson in the short-lived television comedy series "Half Nelson". In 1988, Pesci appeared in the Michael Jackson musical anthology film "Moonwalker", in the film's sixth and longest segment, "Smooth Criminal." He played the antagonist, crime boss Frankie "Mr. Big" LiDeo (an anagram for one of the film's producers and longtime Jackson manager Frank DiLeo, with whom Pesci later acted in "Goodfellas"). He appeared as Leo Getz,
Mafia film genre, Robert De Niro as Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa and Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino. Mafia film Mafia films — a version of gangster films — are a subgenre of crime films dealing with organized crime, often specifically with the Mafia. Especially in early mob films, there is considerable overlap with "film noir". Popular regional variations of the genre include Italian "Poliziotteschi", Chinese "Triad films", Japanese "Yakuza films", and Indian "Mumbai underworld films". The American movie "The Black Hand" (1906) is thought to be the earliest surviving gangster film. In 1912, D. W. Griffith directed