Joseph D Pistone/Instagram/Sony
Johnny Depp played Joseph D. Pistone in the 1997 gangster movie, Donnie Brasco, and the real Pistone says that the actor still comes to visit his kids and his grandkids almost 30 years later.
Directed by Mike Newell, Donnie Brasco follows undercover FBI agent Pistone (Depp) as he infiltrates the Bonnaro crime family during the 1970s after becoming friends with hitman Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino). As he sinks deeper and deeper into New York’s criminal underbelly, the line between Pistone’s two lives begin to blur.
Donnie Brasco is based on the true story of Pistone’s investigation, which ran for over six years until 1981 and dealt a huge blow to the Mafia after the authorities made over 100 convictions as a result. Pistone was even a consultant on the 1997 movie to ensure that it was an accurate representation of his life.
Clearly he created a good rapport with star Johnny Depp, because the actor is still a part of Pistone’s life.
Joseph D. Pistone says Johnny Depp comes to visit his family 30 years after Donnie Brasco
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Pistone recently opened up about his life when appearing on the Mad That podcast when he explained that he’s maintained a good friendship with the actor in the almost three decades since Donnie Brasco was released in theaters.
“We’re still friends with Johnny Depp. My kids are, my grandkids. He came to the States in January and visited us for two days. We had a nice two day visit with him. That’s a big deal. How many kids can say they’re good friends with Johnny Depp you know?” Pistone explained.
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“That tells you a lot about Johnny, that we’ve stayed friends all these years and kept in contact. My one granddaughter can call him up and talk to him, he’ll answer her calls, no matter where he is. That tells you a lot about Johnny Depp.”
The former FBI agent revealed how surreal it was to watch a movie based on his life, adding: “The first time I saw the movie it was kind of strange, I had some tears come to my eyes. You don’t go into undercover or policework thinking you’re going to have a best selling book, you’re going to have a hit movie… So it’s like ‘Wow, that really happened? Did I really do that?'”
Host Harry Robinson also explained that Pistone is still in witness protection as a result of the original investigation, and that they weren’t told about where Pistone was calling from. After you’ve rewatched Donnie Brasco, you can also discover our most anticipated movies of 2026.
