John Turturro was tempted to pickpocket commuters as he prepared for his role in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.

The 69-year-old actor stars in the new movie as thief Harry Lehman and confessed that he "wanted to feel the thrill" of nabbing a wallet or phone when he was travelling on the Big Apple's Subway last year.

John told The New York Times: "I came really close. I just wanted to feel the thrill, the nerves of what that would be."

The Big Lebowski star quipped that preparing for a movie role wouldn't be an adequate defence in court had he been spotted.

He said: "I would think, well, I don't want to get arrested. What was I going to say? That I was doing research?"

Turturro learnt the art of pickpocketing under the guidance of expert Apollo Robins and revealed that he honed his skills by targeting the film's cast and crew on set.

The Severance actor said: "Apollo Robins is like a concert pianist. I'm never going to be that. I mean, he could take my watch off and every single time I don't feel it.

"He gave me exercises with coins to do and taught me how to bump someone."

John added: "I pickpocketed a lot of people. Sometimes they would catch me, but a lot of times they didn't know."

The Batman star explained that he has never fallen victim to a pickpocket himself, although his actress wife Katherine Borowitz has.

He recalled: "We were together, coming out of the movie, someone distracted her, went in her purse.

"I mean, I had my apartment robbed, but that was different. I put an air-conditioner in the window of a little studio, and the next day, I was robbed."

John explained that he decided to star in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York as the film's original premise appealed to him.

He said: "I read so many scripts and they're so derivative. But this one, wow.

"A person who's never taken care of someone now realises that's what life is, to care for someone. His life has changed, the world has changed, his profession has changed, and it just resonated with me.

"At a certain age, you know what loss is, you know what failure is."