Debra Messing In Advance Talks To Join Robert De Niro In Warner Bros Barry Levinson Mob Pic ‘Wise Guys’

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Primetime Emmy and SAG winning actress Debra Messing is in advance talks to join Warner Bros mob drama Wise Guys in the role of Bobbie, the faithful wife of Robert De Niro kingpin Frank Costello, Deadline has learned.

Messing recently starred as herself in Billy Eichner’s critically acclaimed LGBTQ romantic comedy Bros which received an A CinemaScore.

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Wise Guys is a period piece that follows the story of Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, a pair of Italian Americans running two separate crime families during the mid-20th century. Genovese tried and failed to assassinate Costello in 1957, though the latter wound up taking his leave from the mob after being injured during the attempt on his life. De Niro is reportedly playing both roles.

Messing played Grace Adler for 246 episodes on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning comedy series Will & Grace, which returned to the network in 2017 with the entire original creative team and most recently concluded its final season. Messing won a Primetime Emmy for Lead Actress Comedy Series in 2003 for the role.

The actress appeared in the adaptation of the Broadway hit 13: The Musical for Netflix. She recently starred in Birthday Candles on Broadway. She also appeared in the indie films The Dark Divide opposite David Cross, as well as Jon Stewart and Plan B’s Irresistible. She also starred in the critically-acclaimed indie thriller hit Searching alongside John Cho for director Aneesh Chaganty.

Previously, Messing starred in the NBC series, The Mysteries of Laura and Smash, produced by Steven Spielberg, and in ABC’s remake of Dirty Dancing. In 2014, Messing made her own Broadway debut in the Tony Award-nominated production of John Patrick Shanley’s Outside Mullingar. Other theater credits include Donald Marguiles’ Pulitzer Prize finalist Collected Stories and Paul Rudnick’s Off-Broadway play The Naked Truth.

Her film credits include Along Came Polly, The Wedding Date, The Women, Nothing Like the Holidays, Hollywood Ending, The Mothman Prophecies and Like Sunday Like Rain.

Messing is repped by Gersh, 3 Arts, Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher, LLP.

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