After nearly three decades, Debra Messing is finally fulfilling her dream of acting alongside Robert De Niro in a gangster film. The two star as husband and wife in The Alto Knights, a movie about the infamous feud between New York mob bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, set to hit theaters on March 21.
For Messing, this role is a full-circle moment. Back in 1995, she auditioned for Casino, hoping to play Ginger McKenna opposite De Niro. Though the role ultimately went to Sharon Stone, Messing still remembers the audition vividly.
“I met [Bob] for the first time when I was 25, fresh out of NYU grad school,” Messing, now 56, informed “It was one of my first film auditions, and I was called back to meet Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese for Casino. I thought, ‘I’m too young for this,’ so I went to a salon and asked for an updo to make me look older and glamorous.”
But her efforts didn’t quite land. “Bob opened the door and said, ‘What, you going to a prom?’” Messing recalled with a laugh. “I died. I don’t remember anything after that.”
Decades later, Messing finally got her chance to work with De Niro on The Alto Knights. “When we actually read together, Bob started improvising by the third line,” she said. “I thought, ‘What’s going on? This isn’t the scene I learned.’ But I told myself, ‘Sink or swim. This is what you trained for at NYU.’ So I dove in, and it became really fun and fluid. We had great chemistry, and he made it feel safe and welcoming.”
Messing is also excited about the upcoming Broadway premiere of Smash, based on the cult-hit TV show she starred in. “I’ll be there opening night,” she said. “I already saw an early workshop, and I was crying through it. It’s going to be wonderful.”
As for another revival of Will & Grace, Messing isn’t holding her breath. The three-season reboot ended in 2020, and she’s content with leaving it there—for now. “The only thing I could see working is The Golden Girls: Will and Grace in a few decades, where all four of them are living in Boca Raton, wearing caftans,” she joked. “I’d buy that! But come back in 40 years.”
