William DeMeo, creator, writer, director and star of the Prime Video Mafia drama Gravesend, has revealed the show is rooted in his own Brooklyn upbringing. The series, which has topped Amazon's purchased sales and independent charts, has just released its third season, featuring NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal in a major role.
Based on DeMeo's Brooklyn childhood
DeMeo, 55, who plays mafia soldier Benny Z in the Colezzo crime family, told the Mirror: "I grew up in a neighbourhood, Gravesend is the section of Brooklyn where I grew up. It was a predominantly Italian neighbourhood with a strong mob Italian-American influence."
He added: "A lot of well-known mobsters that we would know, like a Carlo Gambino, lived a few blocks away from where I grew up. There was a lot of those type of guys in the area, but there was also a lot of hard-working people."
DeMeo said he would never change how he grew up because it shaped his career and gave him as a filmmaker an authenticity he could never take away.
Authenticity and the show's appeal
DeMeo believes that authenticity is key to Gravesend's success, comparing it to The Sopranos. He said: "It was like The Sopranos, when it first came out, no one thought it would be the biggest show."
He explained that the characters dress, talk and act in a certain way, and that making them cartoonish would alienate viewers. He noted that gold chains, crosses and pinky rings were real, citing The Godfather, and described the neighbourhood clubs of his youth as fun but also a little dangerous.
DeMeo said the show is fiction but based on true things, adding: "It's not about any particular person or any particular family, it's just kind of based on a lot of true things that went on, and I just spin it."
Shaquille O'Neal joins the cast
For series three, DeMeo has enlisted a sports superstar. NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal appears as gangster Mustafa, joining a cast that already includes Chazz Palminteri, Vincent Pastore, William Forsythe and Armand Assante.
DeMeo praised O'Neal, calling him a "gentle giant" and an "icon", and said his street background from Newark makes him perfect for the role. He said: "He's like a gentle giant, but yet, remember when he was playing basketball, he was a gangster on the court. And that's why it works with him playing this role in Gravesend, because he was a gangster on the basketball court, he's a gangster in the show."
DeMeo described the combination of Italian and African American elements as "almost like a Spike Lee meets Scorsese type of a feel." Gravesend is now available to stream on Prime Video.
