Johnny Depp is nearly unrecognizable as the bald and overweight gangster Whitey Bulger in Black Mass. Depp is portraying the fugitive in the crime drama that premieres this fall.

Whitey Bulger was one of the most violent crime bosses in Boston before he became an FBI informant to stop the Italian mafia in the city. He went into hiding for nearly 20 years after he learned he was going to be indicted for his numerous crimes.  Bulger was finally captured in 2011 and sentenced to prison.

Depp portrays the menacing Bulger with a disturbing calm. The movie is set in the 1970’s when Bulger was simultaneously a crime boss and informant. Black Mass director Scott Cooper said that Depp captured the complexity of Bulger’s personality.

“Whitey could be charming and deadly,” said Cooper. “Whitey Bulger’s attorney stopped by the set a couple of times and told me that Johnny not only looks like Whitey, he sounds like him and moves like him too. His charm. His cunning. Johnny captured all of that.”

Black Mass has the potential to be a great gangster film in the tradition of Goodfellas or Depp’s own 1997 film Donnie Brasco.  Cooper said Depp’s performance of Whitey Bulger is subtle, but dangerous.

“He could be charming. He could be ruthless. He was like a cobra—you never knew where he could strike,” added Cooper. “A lot of people on set knew Whitey intimately. They got chills at [Depp’s] resemblance. Some of them couldn’t even look at him. It’s easy to be the mustache twirling villain but this performance couldn’t be further from that. He is truly gifted.”