Over the last few weeks, I’ve written about authenticity, self-awareness, and the courage to stay true to oneself, even when the world around us demands otherwise. None of it is easy, for as my pal Doug Reese says, “If it’s easy, anybody can do it.”
I like framing things in sports or pop culture. However, my pop culture references over the last quarter-century or so are slim to none. Sports over the last half-decade are also a bit of a blind spot.
In that case, I want to take us back to 20th century fin de siècle cinema. Al Pacino—who celebrates his 85th birthday today—played a mid-level mobster called Lefty Ruggiero in the underrated Donnie Brasco (1997). Based on a true story of former FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone, the film stars Johnny Depp as Pistone and the titular “Donnie.”
Pistone is undercover as “Don the Jeweler,” a jewel thief from Florida. Pacino’s Lefty meets Donnie Brasco in New York and is immediately taken by him. When Donnie tells Lefty that the diamond he acquired from a strip club owner in one of his shakedowns is a fake, Lefty doesn’t believe Donnie at first.
Here’s the brilliant exchange between Depp’s and Pacino’s characters:
And I’m saying to you, that you should give it to somebody who don’t know any better, because that’s a fugazi!
That’s a fugazi? … How do you know it’s a fugazi? you looked at it for two seconds!
Yeah, I know what a fugazi is.
This moment, while on the surface it is about a counterfeit diamond, is emblematic of the film’s larger narrative. It’s a phenomenal character study on the cost of living a double life and the struggle to remain true to oneself.
The idea of a “fugazi”—a fake—becomes a metaphor for the compromises we make, whether in our personal lives, professional roles, or even in the way we present ourselves to the world.
It’s a reminder that authenticity isn’t just about being honest with others. It’s about being honest with ourself.
After Don the Jeweler convinces Lefty that the diamond is a fake—while the question about whether it is or not is still left up in the air for the viewer—the two confront the owner.
Donnie beats the fellow up, and Lefty takes the guy’s car as “payment.” Mafia SOPs at work.
Now Donnie is in with Lefty and has a way to infiltrate his crew. It then becomes a film that masterfully explores the tension between identity and deception.
Donnie Brasco captures the struggle between staying grounded in who we are against the external pressures that tempt us to compromise and does it in a way that feels both timeless and deeply personal.
Donnie’s internal conflict—his growing attachment to Lefty, his guilt over betraying the trust of those he’s deceiving, and his ultimate realization of the toll this double life has taken—mirrors the challenges many of us face when we stray from our core values.
What struck me when I started thinking about this movie again a few days ago was how relevant this theme is to the choices we make every day.
Whether it’s in our careers, relationships, or personal growth, the question remains: Are we being true to ourselves, or are we settling for a version of ourselves that feels safer, more acceptable, or less risky?
Donnie Brasco’s lesson might be that authenticity requires courage. It’s not always easy to stand firm in who we are, especially when doing so might lead to conflict, rejection, or uncertainty. But the alternative—living as a “fugazi” version of ourself—comes at a cost that’s often far greater.
Life has a way of throwing us into situations where the “fake it till you make it” mentality might feel like the only option. And while there’s a time and place for adaptability, there’s also a line we shouldn’t cross—a point where pretending becomes a betrayal of who we are.
In Donnie Brasco, that line is starkly drawn. Donnie’s undercover work forces him to adopt a persona that’s at odds with his true self, and the longer he stays in character, the harder it becomes to separate the real from the fake. It’s a cautionary tale about the dangers of losing sight of who we are in the pursuit of external validation.
But it’s also a story of redemption. By the end of the film, Donnie makes a choice—painful though necessary—to reclaim his identity at a great personal cost. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to adjust, to stop with the “fugazi” life, and return to what’s real.
Although most of our people aren’t deep undercover and infiltrating the mafia, we all have struggles like this on a smaller scale. Within my mastermind groups, we’ve done a lot of work on being authentic.
Our next one of these group coaching cohorts is starting up again in June and availability, this time, is limited. Contact me if you have any questions.
For more:
As always,
Brian
P.S. – Watch Donnie Brasco on Amazon Prime
The extended version of the above scene:
