‘Sopranos’ Cast Compares James Gandolfini With His Character Tony Soprano in New Documentary
A new two-part documentary showcases the success of the popular HBO series The Sopranos. In the documentary, the show’s creator David Chase and doc director Alex Gibney sit down to share memories, archived footage and try to uncover why the series remains such a pop culture phenomenon. Many parts of the documentary also pay tribute to its late star James Gandolfini, who portrayed Tony Soprano and passed away in 2013, less than a decade after the series ended in 2007.
Gandolfini’s costar Michael Imperioli opened up about working with him and how he was very different than his character. He shared, “He was very different than Tony Soprano, he was very laid back. He wore Birkenstocks and liked Green Day and AC/DC. What’s funny is that a lot of fans look at Tony Soprano as kind of a role model — which is very scary in a lot of ways. He probably felt that: people thinking he’s Tony Soprano and he’s not.”
Craig Blankenhorn/HBO/Everett Collection
It wasn’t just Imperioli who gushed about Gandolfini. Edie Falco, who played his onscreen wife added, “He was incredibly invested in making that character believable. Unless you’re really diligent, you can end up taking your work home. As an actor that’s not always a great idea. So, yeah, I think it may have taken a toll on him.”
Craig Blankenhorn/HBO/Everett Collection
His former costars also remember a time when he was very generous. Just before Season 4, Gandolfini received a huge raise from HBO. Drea de Matteo explained that the rest of the cast didn’t know how to negotiate at the time and didn’t even realize a huge raise could be on the table. She said, “I think he felt terrible about that. So, he called us all into his trailer one by one and gave everybody a check for $30,000.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t always checks and laughs on set. As Gandolfini became more and more famous, he struggled with substance abuse and would often threaten to quit the show. Eventually, HBO had to create a stipulation that he would lose $100,000 for each skipped day of work as he stopped showing up. Chase speculated, “He felt that he had to go to places, he said, that were destructive to him. And painful for him.”
Watch the documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos on HBO and Max.
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