15 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Departed
![15 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Departed](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/0/8/772708_320x180.jpg)
The Departed is, among other things, a very long movie. While not everyone loves this marathon homage to South Boston, the Irish mob and White Bulger, you have to acknowledge they really WENT for it.
This star-studded mob masterpiece got Martin Scorsese his first Academy Award for Best Director. But did you know the movie is based on an even better movie from Hong Kong?
Now, whether or not you've seen Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson sling their thick Boston (ed note: Bahhh-stin) accents on the screen one or a million times, we bet there's a few behind the scenes facts about the departed you never knew about. Fifteen of them, in fact.
For example, did you know Brad Pitt almost starred in the film? He also produced and helped develop it.
Today we’ll take a look at that and 14 more behind-the-scenes facts about the film. So don't just stand there like some kind of RAT, scroll on down, tough guy…
![BEHIND-THE-SCENESp FACTS JACK NICHOLSON WASN'T SUPPOSED TO PULL OUT A GUN. DEPARTED THE According to Scorsese, Nicholson didn't tell anyone he was gonna pull a gun out in the iconic I smell a rat'' scene DiCaprio's surprised reaction in the film is genuine and he regards the scene as one](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/6/772736.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS BRAD PITT ALMOST STARRED IN THE FILM. DEPARTED THE Pitt served as a producer on the film and helped develop it. He initially planned on starring in the film as well, however, once Scorsese came on board, Pitt decided the role should go to a younger actor.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/4/6/772746.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENESp FACTS JACK NICHOLSON REJECTED THE ROLE AT FIRST. EBE DEPARTED THE Nicholson initially turned down the role of Frank Costello because he felt the role was too small. He signed on after Scorsese decided to expand the role.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/8/772738.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS ROBERT DE NIRO TURNED DOWN A ROLE IN THE FILM. DEPARTED THE De Niro was offered the role of Captain Queenan but had to turn it down because he was busy directing The Good Shepherd.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/6/3/772763.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS RAY WINSTONE AND JACK NICHOLSON DIDN'T GET ALONG. DEPARTED THE Winstone, who played Nicholson's right -hand man, says that despite them having great chemistry on screen, the two just didn't click' in real life.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/4/3/772743.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENESP FACTS RZA TURNED DOWN THE ROLE OF OFFICER BROWN. DEPARTED THE The Wu-Tang founder says he regrets not taking the opportunity to be in the film and blames his decision on the fact that he was new to Hollywood at the time.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/4/4/772744.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS MATT DAMON WENT ON A REAL POLICE RAID. sr DEPARTED THE Damon says that the Boston Police Department helped him prepare for the role by bringing him along during a raid of a crack house. Damon wore a bulletproof vest and went in after the cops cleared the](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/4/772734.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS IT'S A LOOSE ADAPTATION OF ANOTHER MOVIE. LEONARDO MATT JACK MARK INFERNAL DICAPRIO DAMON NICHOLSON WAHLBERG ZAFFAIRS ANDY LAU TONY LEUNG DEPARTED THE VRSXes A NEW AMERIGAN GRINE CLASSIC The film's premise is based on 2002's Infernal Affairs, a critically acclaimed action movie from Hong Kong. The film's writer purposely](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/9/772739.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS A SEQUEL WAS IN DEVELOPMENT. DEPARTED THE In 2016, producer Roy Lee revealed that a sequel was in development at one point and that the idea was to bring back characters that died in the original. The project fell through because it was too expensive and Scorsese wasn't](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/4/5/772745.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS MARK WAHLBERG PULLED FROM REAL LIFE FOR HIS ROLE. DEPARTED THE Wahlberg says he drew a lot from his Boston upbringing to prepare for the role of Sergeant Dignam. Specifically, he based the character on all the cops that arrested him during his troublesome youth.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/5/772735.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENESP FACTS JACK NICHOLSON REQUESTED THE SEX SCENE. DEPARTED THE Nicholson says that he pushed for the film to showcase the evil side of sexuality. These kind of monsters, they don't usually have a sex life onscreen, SO I wanted to bring that to the part.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/7/772737.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS FRANK COSTELLO IS BASED ON A REAL MOBSTER. DEPARTED THE Costello's character is based on the famous mobster James Whitey Bulger. Frank Costello is also the name of a real-life New York mafia leader.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/2/772732.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS MARK WAHLBERG WASN'T THE FIRST CHOICE. DEPARTED THE Before hiring Wahlberg, Scorsese sought out Ray Liotta and Denis Leary for the role of Sergeant Dignam but both had to tum him down due to scheduling conflicts.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/4/0/772740.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS MATT DAMON'S APARTMENT IS ACTUALLY A LIBRARY. DEPARTED THE The top floor of the Suffolk University Law School Library in Boston served as the filming location for Damon's beautiful apartment.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/3/3/772733.jpg)
![BEHIND-THE-SCENESp FACTS JACK NICHOLSON REFUSED TO WEAR A RED SOX HAT. DEPARTED THE Nicholson's character was supposed to wear a Red Sox hat in the movie, however, the actor refused to wear one because he's a huge Yankees fan.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/4/1/772741.jpg)