Hollywood has cast several Italian-American actors to play Latinos in film, including Al Pacino's infamous portrayal of Cuban gangster Tony Montana in "Scarface" and a Puerto Rican convict in "Carlito's Way," among others.

While the cultures of Latino-Americans, Italian-Americans and Latinos and Italians from their respective countries are all very different in their own ways, the cultural representations and typecasting of the gangster and criminal roles often parallel each other. Whether it's OK or believable is another debate, but it's noteworthy to see the sometimes interchangeable roles between these races/nationalities.

"Boardwalk Empire's" Vincent Piazza, who was cast in Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical "Jersey Boys" as the Four Seasons' Tommy DeVito, an Italian-American, New Jersey crooner, gambler and troublemaker, has also taken on a Latino character during his film career.

The Queens native, who is of German and Italian decent, played Ricky Delacruz in the 2008 film "Assassination of a High School President," which also stars Mischa Barton and Bruce Willis.

While Piazza didn't land the initial part he sought, director Brett Simon reportedly admired his work in "Robot Science," and instead cast him in the role of Delacruz. In turn, Piazza had to figure how to master a Spanish accent.

Being from Queens, one of the most diverse places in the world, Piazza knew that New York would be one of the best places to tap into multicultural talent. He sought out a friend who runs a Puerto Rican theater in Manhattan that helps Puerto Ricans adapt to an American accent. Piazza received guidance on reading his lines in a thick Puerto Rican accent, which helped bring more authenticity to his character.

In "Jersey Boys," Piazza's charm, gusto, Italian-American accent and old-school swagger adds an edge to the film and completes the strong cast of the Four Seasons, which includes John Lloyd Young, who reprises his Tony Award-winning performance as lead vocalist Frankie Valli, as well as "Jersey Boys" alumni Michael Lomenda, who plays Nick Massi, and Erich Bergen, who plays Bob Gaudio.

Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken also plays the late mob boss Gyp DeCarlo, who helps bail the Four Seasons out of trouble (caused by DeVito) when a loan shark comes collecting.

Eastwood's film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of "the four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey" who became the iconic rock n' roll crooners of the '60s known as the Four Seasons. The band's hit songs include "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," "Who Loves You" and "Oh, What a Night."

"All of their stuff was great. It was energetic music and it was great fun, certainly superior for that particular time in history," Eastwood said during a "Jersey Boys" press junket at New York's historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which Latin Post attended.

Eastwood commented on the strong Italian ties that exist in New Jersey and joked that there isn't a street named after him in Oakland, California, like that of the Four Seasons' Tommy DeVito (played by Piazza) in Belleville, New Jersey.

"Jersey Boys" references New Jersey's predominantly Italian-American areas:

"There were three ways out of the neighborhood: you join the Army and maybe get killed; you get mobbed up, maybe get killed that way...or you get famous. For us, it was two out of three."

"In terms of Tommy DeVito, I thought it was something certainly to pay attention to and work," Piazza pointed out at the press junket. "Certain stigmas about Italian-Americans maybe leaving or transcending the borough or the pocket community in which they are from. It fueled the fire in these guys to get out and to make it. At least it was alive in me and hopefully it was apparent in some of the scenes."

"I think there's that sort of desperation to get up and out," said Young, who is of Italian and English descent and is also fluent in Spanish, having studied abroad in Caracas, Venezuela and Salamanca, Spain.

"He's like a big brother ... they both have an ego ... Frankie relies on the brawn of Vince, the ingenuity and craftiness of Vince. That's the seed of that relationship, that big brother-little brother relationship," Young added.

Piazza is also known for his role in HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," where he plays the famed mobster Charles "Lucky" Luciano. He admits that he was "fascinated by classic gangsters" for a few years before he auditioned for the show. 

"Boardwalk Empire" follows the treasurer of Atlantic City, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (played by Steve Buscemi) during the Prohibition era in New Jersey, New York City and Chicago.

Check out the official trailer for "Jersey Boys," starring Piazza, which hits theaters Friday, June 20.