Frank Grillo Says His ‘Tulsa King’ Character Bill Bevilaqua Is Loyal Only To Himself

Frank Grillo returned for Season 4 of “Tulsa King” ready to put his character, Bill Bevilaqua, back in the driver’s seat. After spending most of Season 3 in federal custody, Bevilaqua wastes little time reclaiming his standing as head of one of the toughest outposts of the Renzetti crime family. But as the new season opens, it’s far from clear whether his loyalty lies with Dwight Manfredi, played by Sylvester Stallone, or with Ray “Quiet Ray” Renzetti, played by James Russo.

“Bill has no allegiance to either one of them, but he could use both of them against each other,” Grillo said. “He’s eager to see how it plays out before he decides who his true ally is.”

Grillo, speaking with Decider about the Season 4 premiere, said Bevilaqua had grown complacent running his operation out of Kansas City before Manfredi entered his orbit. “He was born into this lifestyle, but the Kansas City mob thing is small time compared to the New York family. Nobody’s taking him very seriously,” Grillo said. “Dwight did awaken something in Bill that continues to grow as the season goes on. Parts of Bill that he didn’t know will continue to surface.”

Even so, Grillo said the two men hold each other in high regard. “Dwight respects Bill tremendously, and vice versa,” he said, though he added that Manfredi tends to underestimate Bevilaqua because of his ties to the Midwestern faction of the Renzetti family. “Dwight sees him as almost a podunk,” Grillo said. “I believe it’s a bit Machiavellian of Dwight to downplay what Bill’s been through. He’s trying to control the situation.”

Grillo said Bevilaqua turns that underestimation to his own advantage, including through small choices like when his character wears a cowboy hat. “Bill is very calculating with that hat and uses the perceptions that go along with it to his advantage,” Grillo said, adding that he also shifts Bevilaqua’s voice depending on who he’s talking to — sounding more Italian in New York, more Midwestern in Tulsa. “I want Bill to be a chameleon,” he said.

One of the premiere’s most striking scenes takes place during a meeting of Renzetti family bosses in New York, where Ray Renzetti makes an example of a disloyal boss by beheading him and presenting the head to the rest of the men. “Tulsa King is telling a lot of stories, but at its core, it’s a show about the mob,” Grillo said. “There’s a moment between Bill and Dwight when that head drops on the table. That energy carries forward into the future.”

Grillo described Bevilaqua’s approach to Manfredi and Renzetti as a form of triangulation, playing each man against the other while committing to neither. “Bill has no allegiance to either one of them, but he could use each of them against the other,” he said. “It’s very much like The Art of War.”

“He’s an opportunist, period. He does what he has to do. These guys are not gentle. Bill is only concerned with what benefits him and his family.”

Asked to tease what’s ahead, Grillo said the stakes for Bevilaqua are higher than they’ve ever been. “There’s a level of involvement from Bill this season that I don’t think we’ve seen in the past,” he said. “It gets really intense.”