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Rise to Fame
Robert De Niro spotted Pesci in The Death Collector, a 1976 crime film with a limited run, and brought it to Scorsese. That tip got Pesci cast as Joey LaMotta in Raging Bull, an Oscar nomination, and a foothold in Hollywood. When Scorsese thought he was too old for Goodfellas, the two reportedly argued by phone and hung up. Pesci hired a makeup artist, put himself on tape as Tommy DeVito, and sent it over. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The role Scorsese didn't want to give him is the one that defines his career.
In the Spotlight
He walked away in 1999 and stayed mostly gone for two decades. Scorsese reportedly asked him around 50 times before he agreed to play Russell Bufalino in The Irishman, a quiet, controlled performance that is the opposite of everything that made him famous. He earned another Oscar nomination for it. Since then: Pete Davidson's series Bupkis in 2023 and a small film appearance in Day of the Fight the same year. No press tours. No social media. He works when he wants to, and that's the whole strategy.
Side Notes
He introduced Bob Gaudio to Frankie Valli and Tommy DeVito around 1958, which led to the formation of The Four Seasons. When DeVito later fell on hard times, Pesci reportedly kept him on his personal payroll and arranged cameo appearances in his 1990s films. His music career is its own subplot: albums under the name Joe Ritchie in 1968, another as Joe Doggs in 2003, and a 2019 release with Maroon 5's Adam Levine. He reportedly broke the same rib filming two different Scorsese pictures, fifteen years apart.