Gary Oldmam's character identical to Johnny Boy in Mean Streets

Both of these roles aren't deeply sophisticated character studies and they bear such an enormous resemblance that I suggest it allows them to be interchangeable. No Dostoevsky depth here - just 2 kids out of either Hell's Kitchen for the Irish or Little Italy for Johnny Boy. It's virtually a given that both characters had a bullet with his name written on it for their fate. How could either have avoided it. Oldman's Jackie could never get out from under his brother's aegis, and even if Ed Harris had died before him, his ultimate lifespan would never have achieved another additional ten years. As for Johnny Boy, Michael's (Richard Romanus') only course of action was to kill DeNiro as a point of honor, since Johnny Boy was making such a big deal of his recalcitrance and refusal to pay back his debt. DeNiro had called Michael a jagoff for taking his action - not a very sensible or diplomatic course of action to play when dealing with La Costa Nostra, wouldn't you say?
Both of these ghetto kids had that Rod Serling halo that reveals those that were about to face death and didn't know it. So they rush headstrong, willingly and directly right into their destruction. And as much as I love these performances and these movies, they're not self-examining or self-propelling roles. They're both slaves to their circumstances and have very little self control as to both their actions and the consequences that emerge from what actions they take to resolve their circumstances. In short, even though I love them, they aren't great classics due to their depths, but rather they remain fun excursions rather than great examples of theatrical thespian accomplishment.