Gangs of New York

Roles

• Bill "The Butcher" Cutting - Adult (36-50), Senior (>50), Male

About this piece

You know how I stayed alive this long?

Summary

Set in New York in 1863, it is the story of Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio), a young thief who returns to the "Five Points" area of New York where years before he witnessed the killing of his father in a gang war. The man who killed his father was Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day Lewis). As he comes back he joins The Butcher's gang and plans revenge.. Amsterdam, however, falls in the good graces of "The Butcher", who takes him under his wing. One night Amsterdam even saves his life from an assassination attempt. The next morning, The Butcher sits next to Amsterdam's bed and when he wakes up, he tells him the story of how he lost his eye fighting with Amsterdam's father but later killed him. The Butcher, however, doesn't know that he was Amsterdam's father...he tells him he was the only man he ever killed worth remembering...

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