FILM · 2015 · UK
Black Mass
36 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
24 Interesting Facts About Black Mass
- #001
Most of the murder scenes were filmed at the real-life locations where the murders took place.
- #002
The film's ending briefly shows James "Whitey" Bulger being captured, and that is in fact accurate. Living under the alias Charlie Gasko, Bulger was arrested on June 22, 2011, in the parking lot of the Princess Eugenia Apartments in Santa Monica, California. According to FBI agent Scott Gareola, Bulger immediately raised his hands. When ordered to kneel, Bulger replied: "I ain't getting down on my fucking knees." He was wearing white pants and reportedly did not want to get them dirty on the garage's oil-stained floor.
- #003
To make sure Johnny Depp's performance was faithful to the real James "Whitey" Bulger, Scott Cooper hired some of Bulger's former associates as consultants on the film. Each of them praised Depp's performance and said: "That's Whitey."
- #004
While preparing for the role, Johnny Depp tried to speak with James "Whitey" Bulger several times.
- #005
James 'Whitey' Bulger was killed on October 30, 2018, at the United States Penitentiary Hazelton near Bruceton, WV. Bulger was in a wheelchair and had been there for less than a day. He was beaten to death by multiple inmates armed with a padlock wrapped in a sock and a knife.
- #006
When Bulger was finally arrested, he was using the name Charlie. It was also his code name as an informant.
- #007
Johnny Depp said that of all the films he has made, this is his favorite.
- #008
In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003), Johnny Depp admitted that he broke his rule of not watching his own films with this one. He was at the film's premiere in Venice. He was about to stop watching the film, but director Scott Cooper asked him to stay, and he did.
- #009
During production, the real-life John Connolly's murder conspiracy conviction was overturned. However, in 2015 it was reinstated.
- #010
Despite filming a significant number of scenes as Catherine Greig, Sienna Miller's role was cut due to the pace of progress.
- #011
In an interview related to episode #11.13 (2013), Johnny Depp stated that he picked up the Boston accent for the film from hanging out with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry.
- #012
Several prominent members of the Winter Hill Gang were not depicted or mentioned in the film. For example, Bulger's boss Howie Winter was arrested in 1979. Another key associate was gunrunner Patrick Nee, who brought Bulger into the I.R.A. He was directly involved in the murders of Brian Halloran and John McIntyre.
- #014
The light blue contact lenses Johnny Depp wore for his eyes in "Black Mass" were made at Johnny's request. While working on "Tusk," Johnny met set decorator Brian Bull, complimented him by saying his eyes were interesting, and asked if he could photograph Brian's eyes in order to have lenses made for his next film, "Black Mass."
- #015
Revere Beach in Revere, Massachusetts, just north of Boston, was transformed into Miami Beach for the Miami scenes. The producers added real palm trees to the beach and dressed a local pizzeria up as a Cuban cafe.
- #017
Former President of the Massachusetts State Senate William Bulger is so short that one of his critics labeled him a "corrupt midget" during a rumor. Benedict Cumberbatch is eight inches taller than the real-life William Bulger.
- #018
Black Mass is Johnny Depp's fourth role as a real-life gangster, in this case James "Whitey" Bulger. He previously played Joseph D. Pistone in Donnie Brasco (1997), George Jung in Blow (2001) and John Dillinger in Public Enemies (2009).
- #020
Whitey Bulger was second on the FBI's Most Wanted list, behind Osama bin Laden. When bin Laden was killed in May 2011, Bulger moved into the top spot about a month before his capture in Santa Monica, California, the following June.
- #021
According to Scott Cooper, the film's original runtime was close to three hours but was cut down because of pacing problems.
- #023
Kevin Bacon's character, supervising FBI agent Charles McGuire, is a fictional composite of the many supervising agents who served in the Boston field office, on rotation, during the time former FBI agent John Connolly worked there.
- #024
The word "fuck" is said 254 times over the course of the film.
- #025
The beating of John McIntyre, shown in most of the promotional material, was ultimately cut from the film.
- #029
Although the film depicts the Winter Hill Gang at war with the Italian mob in North Boston (the Patriarca crime family), in reality there was infighting within the Patriarca family. The Winter Hill Gang was at war with the Patriarca family's Angiulo group, while the gang had alliances with other figures in the Italian Mafia.
- #034
Body count: eleven.
- #035
Johnny Depp and Rory Cochrane both appeared in Public Enemies (2009). Depp played another famous gangster, John Dillinger.
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