The Knockturnal had the privilege of speaking with the cast and crew of the crime drama The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, written and directed by Noah Segan, at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
The film was executive produced by Rian Johnson, a friend and frequent collaborator of Segan, who has acted in all of Johnson’s films since Brick in 2005, the film that first brought them to the festival. The film stars John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price, Tatiana Maslany, Kelvin Han Yee, and Steve Buscemi.
The film follows Harry Lehman (John Turturro), who undergoes an introspective quest through the five boroughs of New York City to recover a valuable USB stick that holds dangerous ramifications in a race against time. As a pickpocket since the 1980s, Harry must keep sharp and adapt to the modern world where cash is digital, and the usual take from the streets is phones that can be easily tracked, cashless wallets full of credit cards, cryptocurrency, and guns. Harry remains an analog guy in a digital world, struggling to make ends meet while caring for his disabled wife, Rosie.
The film premiered at the Eccles Theatre on January 27, 2026, to critical acclaim, earning an impressive 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. On February 24, Sony Pictures Classics picked up global rights for the film with a theatrical release set for fall.
The cast and crew of The Only Living Pickpocket in New York assemble for photos at the Eccles Theatre in Park City, Utah. Anastasia Ryapisova/The Knockturnal
“He’s a guy, he uses his body, and he uses his hands. So, I always think people reveal themselves through movement. They could say a lot, but you could see someone do something and you’d go, “whoa,” and they reveal themselves. So, I think, you know, it starts with the script, costume, music,” said Turturro of his character in the film.
“I worked with a guy, Apollo Robbins, you know, he’s a magician, pickpocket guy. And, you know, you got to get the right shoes, the right… But especially unconscious movement reveals people and the way they dance.”
Actor John Turturro talks to Knockturnal reporter Zipporah Pruitt. Anastasia Ryapisova/The Knockturnal
Turturro is teamed with fellow veteran actors Esposito and Buscemi, both of whom he worked with prior to Pickpocket. Turturro and Eposito’s cinematic work is strongly associated with New York City. Both starred in the classic, Do the Right Thing, set in Brooklyn, directed by Spike Lee.
On what attracted him to the project, Esposito explains, “What interests me is that things have changed in our world, and this movie exemplifies the change between analog and digital. I play a cop in this, Detective Warren, who really is a guy who comes from paper. You know, he looks in files. He has flashcards of criminals, and we’re in a different world now.”
Will Price is the youngest cast member in the film, who goes face-to-face with Turturro as Dylan Diamond, an heir to a notorious crime family. The tension of the film is set off by a chance encounter between Dylan and Harry. Price shared his thoughts on where his character fits in the grand scheme of the film. “You know, I think my character represents a bit of a shifting of the tides in New York. And my character feels as though he’s been slighted and that maybe he’s owed something. And I think he gets the sense that the generation before him is maybe doing something wrong. And I think it fuels his… It’s his motor in the movie.”
Actor Will Price and Isa Briones (The Pitt) pose together on the press line. Anastasia Ryapisova/The Knockturnal
Writer-director Segan is a native New Yorker who is proud to showcase his view of the iconic city. On what this film gets right about New York, “Wanting to tell a story about. I don’t know about being a different kind of person, but still being a person, still being, you know, still having your dignity and integrity and a code that you live by and being able to, you know, being able to make that a part of a place that I love, my town, you know,” said Segan.
“Noah has done such a great job translating the essence of the piece into a relationship movie. Because when do you see a film that really deals with someone who has a life and a family? Right? You don’t see that from someone who’s in a potentially hazardous vocation,” said Esposito, who remarked on the complexity of Segan’s script. That, while tense, is sentimental, as Harry juggles the responsibilities of being a caring family man with the risky moves he takes as a pickpocket.
Actor Giancarlo Eposito stuns on the press line. Anastasia Ryapisova/The Knockturnal
“Why the reasons why, you know, why you do what you do. Yeah, we know you’re desperate. Yeah, we know you got to survive. But what underneath all that? And this film digs down deep and finds that.”
Johnson was glad to support Segan’s Sundance debut and highlighted how much of the film’s strength lies in lead actor Turturro. “The whole movie is John Turturro. Turturro is, when you say it’s like a showcase for him, that makes it sound… Diminishes it…. I think it’s bigger than that, because the story itself is like a great one. But Turturro is the movie,” said Johnson.
“And it’s such a beautiful performance. And like any of the great kind of character-based crime stories that, you know, can harken back to, it starts with the actor. It starts whether it’s like De Niro in a part or Pacino or what have you. You need a great actor who’s going to just own the movie. And yeah, man, Turturro is that for this.”
Writer-director Noah Segan, executive producer Rian Johnson, and friend Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Anastasia Ryapisova/The Knockturnal
To hear our entire conversation with the cast and crew of this film, watch the video above.
