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Taylor Sheridan based Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Tulsa King’ on a real mafia boss — and now we can’t unsee it

Sylvester Stallone said that playing Dwight Manfredi was 'actually quite easy' for him, compared to his past roles

Taylor Sheridan's show 'Tulsa King' is deeply influenced by one of the real-life crime world’s legends. Yes, you read that right. For Sylvester Stallone's character, Dwight Manfredi, Sheridan drew some inspiration from the notorious mafia aristocracy of Palermo: the Inzerillo family. With his sharp storytelling, Sheridan was able to showcase an accurate picture of underworld chaos. 'Tulsa King' was a major hit with viewers and bagged a spot on the list of best shows on Paramount+. The first season premiered in November 2022, and soon after, it was renewed for a second season, which was released in September 2024.

Stallone's character, Dwight 'The General' Manfredi, has a fascinating connection to the real-life mafia history. In the show, Manfredi, an American Mafia caporegime, who has been released from prison in New York, gets transferred to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he sets up a criminal organization. For Stalone's character, Sheridan drew inspiration from the Inzerillo crime family of Palermo, Italy.

According to a report by Screenrant, the Inzerillo crime family has been described as "the mafia aristocracy of Palermo." The Inzerillo clan was founded by Salvatore 'Totuccio' Inzerillo in the 1960s. Then, the Inzerillo family was associated with the former American Mafia boss Carlo Gambino and his family. In the 1980s, the Gambino crime family ruled New York. On the other hand, in Palermo, the city was ruled by none other than ruthless Salvatore Riina, infamously known as "The Beast" and "Boss of Bosses."

Eventually, Riina's brutal takeover nearly wiped out the Inzerillos, a family that had deep ties to New York's mafia. At that point, Riina pressured the Inzerillo family to leave and never set foot on Sicilian soil ever again. After Riina's bloody campaign, Inzerillos lived their lives in exile in New York. Around the same time, the Inzerillo stayed under the radar and under the protection of the powerful New York mafia. According to CBS News, some surviving members of the Inzerillos and Gambinos returned to Palermo in the 2000s. It has also been reported by the outlet that nearly 16 members of the Inzerillo and Gambino families were arrested during a 2019 joint raid targeting the resurgent mafia family. 

During an interview with IndieWire in January 2023, Stallone candidly spoke about his 'Tulsa King' character and went on to say, “I tried to make it as close to my personality as possible. The idea is: They come up with an idea, a concept, but if you’re a writer, you know how to tailor things to your strengths and deflect your weaknesses. […] Terry [Winter] had that confidence in me.” In the same interview, the actor stated that playing Manfredi was “actually quite easy" for him, compared to his past roles. He further added, “When you’re doing Rambo, after a while it’s like [groans] — you want to attack the pancakes in the morning, you want to throw your coffee against the wall, you actually breathe that kind of anger. If you keep it going, it reflects in your eyes. So this one here was not bad at all.”