Reilly, Henry Thomas, Stephen Graham, Eddie Marsan, and Brendan Gleeson in supporting roles. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Cameron Diaz, with Jim Broadbent, John C. Gangs of New York is a 2002 American historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book The Gangs of New York.