Pete Davidson Is Completely Unrecognizable on the Set of His New Mafia Movie ‘Tommy Karate’

Pete Davidson has spent most of the last decade being one of Hollywood’s most instantly recognizable faces, largely thanks to his signature buzzed haircut and easygoing comedic persona built during his years on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ That familiar image is now getting a complete overhaul for the most dramatic role of his career.

The actor has been developing a passion project for more than three years, one that finally moved into production this summer after Davidson spent years pushing to get it made. That commitment has now translated into a full physical transformation that’s turning heads well beyond the film’s own marketing.

Davidson was spotted filming ‘Tommy Karate‘ in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn on August 25, and the actor looked almost nothing like himself. Gone was his trademark close-cropped haircut, replaced instead by a longer, dark-haired wig parted down the middle with loose curtain bangs framing his face, paired with piercing light blue contacts that further disguised his usual appearance.

The transformation is part of Davidson’s effort to embody real-life mobster Tommy Pitera, a Bonanno crime family enforcer whose martial arts background earned him the nickname that gives the film its title. Pitera was suspected of involvement in as many as 60 murders before his 1992 arrest, though he was ultimately convicted of six killings and running a drug trafficking operation, receiving a life sentence.

Davidson’s on-set wardrobe leaned just as heavily into the character’s identity as his hair and makeup did. He wore a black quilted bomber jacket embroidered with a red Japanese oni mask motif over a black button-down shirt featuring a bird print, finishing the look with black trousers and a pair of bright red sneakers that added an unexpected streetwear touch to the otherwise dark outfit.

The film is based on Philip Carlo’s true crime book ‘The Butcher: Anatomy of a Mafia Psychopath,’ and follows both Pitera’s reign of violence and the years-long investigation that ultimately brought him down. Paul Walter Hauser stars as DEA Agent Jim Hunt, the investigator who spent years pursuing Pitera before finally securing his capture, with Camila Mendes and Simon Rex also joining the cast.

Justin Chon directs the project from a script he co-wrote alongside Davidson and Joseph Gay, marking a significant departure for an actor whose career has largely been defined by comedic and semi-autobiographical roles. Davidson has described the project as deeply personal, having spent years developing the story before production finally got underway.

Chon has framed the film as a deliberate reinvention of the mob genre rather than a nostalgic throwback, emphasizing character depth and fresh visual choices over familiar gangster movie tropes. Given how thoroughly Davidson has already transformed his appearance for the role, that ambition seems to extend well beyond just the screenplay.

With the film reportedly slated for a 2027 release, fans now have plenty of time to speculate about just how far Davidson’s performance will push him beyond his comedic roots. Based on these early set photos alone, it’s clear this role represents one of the biggest creative risks of his career so far.

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