A passion project long in the making, Netflix’s The Irishman sees director Martin Scorsese reunited with Robert De Niro for their ninth collaboration.


The gangster biopic centres on Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran (De Niro), who recalls his involvement in the disappearance of his longtime friend, Jimmy Hoffa.

And The Irishman is now nominated for 10 awards at Oscars 2020, making it one the night’s frontrunners, alongside Joker and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Here’s everything you need to know about The Irishman.

When will The Irishman be released on Netflix?

The Irishman was released in cinemas on 8th November, and was be available on Netflix from 27th November. You can watch the movie on Netflix here.

Was The Irishman released in cinemas too?

The Irishman also hit the big screen as well as Netflix – but on a limited release.

“We’ve talked about it with Netflix,“ De Niro said at the Marrakesh Film Festival in 2018. “They are going to do a presentation of our film the way it should be, in a theatre, in certain venues, the best theatrical venues there can be.”

Is there a trailer for The Irishman?

There sure is. Netflix released a first-look at the film in late July 2019 with an action-packed two minutes of footage featuring the assassination of JFK…

A further trailer was released in anticipation of the film’s imminent release on Netflix…

What’s The Irishman about?

Based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, the film follows Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran, a union official with connection to the mafia, and who allegedly murdered his friend and controversial union leader, Jimmy Hoffa, at the behest of the Bufalino crime family.

A World War Two veteran, Sheeran first met Hoffa while both men were in their thirties, and apparently a huge chunk of the film’s budget is going towards the CGI to make respective actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino look younger for the biopic’s various lengthy flashbacks to 1959.

Speaking at the Marrakesh Film Festival Scorsese revealed that The Irishman — which he has been hoping to make since at least 2008 — is a “risky” film.

“People such as Netflix are taking risks. The Irishman is a risky film,” he said. “No one else wanted to fund the pic for five to seven years. And of course we’re all getting older. Netflix took the risk.”

Who is in the cast of The Irishman?

Robert De Niro stars as union official and alleged hitman Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran, while Al Pacino plays union leader Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared in the mid-70s as was assumed assassinated by mobsters.

Speaking about his character, De Niro told RadioTimes.com, “Frank was religious, raised religiously, and had this thing, this dilemma with people he loved where he had to choose between one or the other.

“It weighed on him so much that he had to get it out finally, that it was him. He was a guy with that kind of a conscience.”

Oscar-winner Joe Pesci (Goodfellas) plays crime boss Russell Bufalino, who acted as Sheeran’s mentor, while True Blood’s Anna Paquin plays Sheeran’s daughter, Peggy.

Everybody Loves Raymond’s Ray Romano also stars as Bill Bufalino, while Mr Robot’s Bobby Cannavale plays Felix ‘Skinny Razor’ DiTullio.