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17 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Sopranos

March 28, 2021

David Chase’s masterpiece put HBO on the map but did you know the show wasn’t originally conceived as a TV show?

Today we'll take a look at that and 16 more behind-the-scenes stories from The Sopranos:

17

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS CRACKED.cO THE SHOW STARTED OFF AS A MOVIE. Soppanos Creator David Chase originally conceived The Sopranos as a movie about a mobster in therapy having problems with his mother, starring Robert DeNiro. One of his managers eventually convinced him to turn the project into a TV series. — WGA & The Independent

16

Steve Van Zandt

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS CRACKEDC DAVID CHASE WANTED STEVEN VAN ZANDT TO PLAY TONY. PTONS HAMP NATIONAL INTER FESTIVAL FILM HAMPTO HAMP ONS INTER INTER ATIONAL FILM ESTIVAL SopPanos Chase says he originally wanted the musician to play the lead, however, HBO didn't want to give the role to an inexperienced actor. In — Vanity Fair

15

BEHIND-T BEHIND-THE-SCENESEACTS CRACKEDcO A YOUNG LADY GAGA APPEARED ON THE SHOW. SOPFANOS All the way back in 2001, a 15-year-old Gaga appeared as one of A.J. Soprano's schoolmates in season three episode The Telltale Moozadell. — Billboard

14

James Gandolfini’s Pay Dispute

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS CRACKEDC JAMES GANDOLFINI SETTLED A PAY DISPUTE WITH HIS OWN MONEY. sopFanos In season four, actors from the show got into a contract dispute with HBO over their salaries. To settle the dispute, Gandolfini called all 16 main actors from the show to his trailer and wrote them each — The Hollywood Reporter

13

BEHIND-THE-SCENESEACTS CRACKED cO THE A DON DOESN'T WEAR SHORTS LINE CAME FROM ACTUAL MOBSTERS. Soppanos In season four, Tony, who is often seen wearing shorts, is told that a real don doesn't wear shorts. This was an actual critique David Chase received from some mobster who didn't like that Tony was — The New York Times

12

BEHIND-THE-SCENESP FACTS CRACKEDC STEVEN VAN ZANDT EMPLOYED JOHN GOTTI'S TAILOR. Spranos In order to prepare for the role of Silvio Dante, Zandt gained 7Olb and got the tailor of real-life mafia boss John Gotti to make clothes for his character. — The Guardian

11

The Sopranos

BEHIND-THE-SCENESEACTS CRACKEDcO THE RUSSIAN'S FATE WAS ALMOST REVEALED. SOPFANOS According to Tony Sirico, a scene was shot where his character would leave a bar and find the Russian standing outside on the corner David Chase didn't like the scene and eventually decided to remove it. — The New York Times

10

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS CRACKEDCO JAMES GANDOLFINI'S SON IS SET TO PLAY TONY SOPRANO. Sopranos Gandolfini's 21-year-old son Michael will portray a young Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark- a The Sopranos prequel film scheduled to be released in September on HBO Max. — TODAY

9

BEHIND-THE-SCENESEACTS CRACKEDC RAY LIOTTA WAS OFFERED A ROLE ON THE SHOW. Soprands Liotta says he refused a substantial part on the show because he didn't want to share the spotlight with James Gandolfini. He also thought TV would be a step down for his career — The Hatchet

8

Don’t Stop Believin’

BEHIND-THE-SCENES GFACTS CRACKED DAVID CHASE ENDED THE SHOW WITH DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' BECAUSE EVERYONE HATED IT. olestun's Soprans David Chase says the original choice was between Journey's Don't Stop Believin' and Al Green's Love and Happiness. He decided he had to use Don't Stop Believin after everybody from the production — YouTube

7

Lorraine Bracco

BEHIND-THE-SCENESEACTS CRACKEDcO LORRAINE BRACCO COULD'VE PLAYED CARMELA SOPRANO. Sopranos Bracco was offered the role of Soprano's wife, however, she refused it because she didn't want to play another mobster's wife after Goodfellas. Instead, she fought to get the role of Dr. Melfi. — Vanity Fair

6

Livia Soprano

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS CRACKEDC LIVIA SOPRANO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE IN THE FIRST SEASON. soppanos David Chase originally wanted to end season one with Tony killing his mother. He changed his mind after Nancy Marchand asked him to keep her working while she was battling cancer — WGA

5

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS CRACKEDco HBO WANTED TO CALL THE SHOW THE FAMILY MAN. Sopranos Worried people would think The Sopranos was a show about opera singers, HBO unsuccessfully tried to get David Chase to rename the show. — 15 Beloved TV Shows That Almost Had Some Unlovable Names

4

James Gandolfini

BEHIND-THE-SCENESEACTS CRACKED.cO JAMES GANDOLFINI ALMOST SUED HBO. SUpFanos In 2003, Gandolfini threatened to sue HBO for not properly informing him that the show was renewed for a fifth season. HBO claimed that Gandolfini was just using tactics to secure a bigger paycheck. The two sides eventually reached an agreement and — Looper

3

Hesh

BEHIND-THE-SCENESEACTS CRACKED.cO JERRY STILLER ALMOST PLAYED HESH. Sopranos Stiller dropped out of the project just days before the pilot was supposed to be shot. The casting director then reached out to Jerry Adler, who was friends with David Chase, and offered him the role. — Cheat Sheet

2

HBO

BEHIND-THE-SCENESEACTS CRACKED.co HBO WASN'T THE SHOW'S FIRST HOME. HBO SopFanOS THE It was originally picked up by Fox, however, the network ed on the show after reading the script for the pilot. According to creator David Chase, Fox thought the therapy angle would be too much for audiences. — The Guardian & Screen Rant

1

BEHIND-THE-SCENESFACTS CRACKEDcO GANDOLFINI GOT INTO CHARACTER BY PUTTING ROCKS IN HIS SHOES. Sopranos In order to fully invoke Tony's anger during his performance, Gandolfini would put a rock in his shoe to irritate himself. He would also regularly stay up all night when he had scenes in which Tony was — The New York Times

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