John Turturro is a remarkably gifted actor, and surprisingly, also a skilled pickpocket – or at least, he learned how to be one for his latest role! Currently enjoying a successful period with his part as Irving Bailiff in the Apple TV series Severance, the 68-year-old actor is now starring in the crime thriller The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, which will debut at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27th. To convincingly play Harry, a career criminal whose years of skillful theft are finally leading to trouble, Turturro actually learned how to pickpocket.
In a recent interview with Deadline, the actor shared that he became surprisingly skilled at pickpocketing while preparing for the role. He even started to believe he could actually do it in public! This confidence came after studying the 1964 book Whiz Mob by David W. Maurer, which details the language and techniques of pickpockets, and receiving lessons from Apollo Robbins, a professional pickpocket and performance artist, who taught him the fundamentals. The actor admitted, “I’d be on the subway and really tempted,” prompting the film’s director, Noah Segan, to add:
Sometimes John would tell me stories about almost getting into trouble. He’d call or I’d run into him, and he’d say something like, ‘I was on the subway after a game and saw someone who tempted me to do something I shouldn’t have. I didn’t do it, but I could have.’
Alongside John Turturro in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York are several well-known actors. These include Steve Buscemi, who previously worked with the Coen brothers (the film’s directors) on movies like Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, and The Big Lebowski. Also appearing are Giancarlo Esposito, famous for Breaking Bad; Tatiana Maslany, known from She-Hulk: Attorney at Law; and Victoria Moroles, who starred in Teen Wolf.
John Turturro Will Return as Irving in ‘Severance’ Season 3
MRC
Despite not having seen any scripts yet, John Turturro is expected to return as his popular character in the third season of Severance. Filming is scheduled to begin this April and continue through December, with the new season likely to be released in late 2027. According to creator Dan Erickson, Season 3 will build on the intensity and unpredictability of Season 2.
When we finished writing the Season 2 finale, I immediately knew it would be a huge reaction – people would be shocked, maybe even angry, but ultimately, they’d be hooked. I felt that same energy with a few other big moments in Season 2. But I’ve experienced that feeling even more while writing Season 3 than I did with the previous seasons.
I expect the show will have many surprising and controversial moments, and it’ll be both strange and humorous – hopefully continuing to give viewers what they enjoy about it.
The second season ended with a shocking scene: Mark’s “inner self” left his wife, Gemma, at Lumon Industries and fled with Helly as the department was locked down.
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2026-01-26 17:50