- [Steve] Anna, nice to finally meet you.
- Nice to meet you guys.
- Nice to see- - How are you?
- I'm so good, how are you? - Thanks for having us.
- Oh no, I'm very excited.
I'm really excited about stealing
that leather jacket my man.
(audience laughs)
Did you watch "The Sopranos"?
Were you under "The Sopranos" there?
- Oh, I would watch "The Sopranos" with my dad.
- Oh, I love that. - So I like
couldn't quote you like everything from every episode,
but like that was like a bonding thing.
Just like- - That's cool.
- Murder but also family dynamics.
(all laughing) (Kelly clapping)
- That was the show was about. - Exactly.
- Interpersonal relationships.
- [Michael] Exactly. - That's what
the show is about.
(audience applauding) (Kelly laughing)
- I love you so much.
(laughs) Murder.
- Its true. - Family dynamics,
you're so funny.
Okay, so you guys did the show together
for five seasons, right?
So what were your first impressions of each other?
Did you like each other at first,
or were you like, hmm?
- We don't like each other now.
(all laughing) - Now.
- [Kelly] Oh.
- I mean, at first.
- Well, you know, Michael was there first,
and I came on in the second season
so he was one of the leads of the show.
So it was one of my first days,
I was very excited to meet him, you know?
- [Kelly] Yeah.
- And they introduced us
and he went, "Yeah, how are you doing?"
He gave me the fish hand,
you know the fish hand?
- Yeah. - This is what he gave me.
- [Kelly] Yeah, I'll never-
- He gave me the fish hand and-
- [Kelly] I'll never see you again (laughs).
- That's exactly right.
The pay no mind list and that's exactly what he did,
and to this day it's kinda the same way.
(all laughing)
- Kelly, I was told to keep a distance.
He had a terrible reputation coming out of Las Vegas
as being very difficult and-
- [Kelly] Is this true?
- It took a while to get used to his ways,
his demands and everything.
- [Kelly] Oh.
- And then we wind up one night, he came over,
he said, "Let's go out for a drink,"
and that was one of thousands of drinks.
But just to show you what things are like even today,
this is what happened today,
- We were on site. - Trying to get
into the front gate.
Michael, Schirepa,
- Mamashu...
Oh, yeah.
- Michael, Schirepa, they can't even get my name right.
- [Kelly] They can't even spell your name right (laughs).
- Because he's always pulling
these moves on me, there you go.
- (laughs) That's awesome. - I didn't do anything
that's the way cards fall, Kelly.
- Those are my favorite friendships,
the ones where you can call each other out constantly,
I love that.
Well, in your first scene, in the first episode,
you're driving, you were driving, right?
So is it true that you didn't know how to drive?
- No.
I spent my adulthood in New York City
so a lot of us don't drive,
but I got cast basically to be Tony Soprano's driver.
(Kelly and audience laughing)
So I didn't tell them that
'cause I wanted the...
You do whatever you can
to get a job, right? - Yeah, to get a job.
- Oh my god! - I was like, yeah,
I can drive.
I'm thinking, how hard could it be it's a TV show?
- [Kelly] Actors are liars, okay.
- Actors are liars.
- Yes, okay.
- [Michael] Exactly.
- So I figured they're gonna block off the streets,
it's gonna be fine.
But I had to drive backwards down the sidewalk
with trees on both sides,
doing dialogue to Tony Soprano, James Gandolfini.
And I did it like five times,
and then the director said,
"Do it one more time, twice as far, twice as fast."
Boom!
Right into a tree, backed right into it,
destroyed the rear end of the car.
Airbags go off, James Gandolfini's head snaps,
there's smoke, people are running
and I'm just like, "I'm getting fired.
There's no way they're keeping me.
He's the star of the show, he's..."
And then I look over, - What is he saying?
- He just starts losing it, laughing hysterically.
(Anna gasps) (audience laughing)
- Oh, I was kind of what kind of losing it (laughs).
(audience clapping)
- Hysterically laughing and I was like,
- Oh my god! - "All right, it's gonna
be okay."
- Okay, you can still have your driver's license
for a while and still do something like that.
I mean, not that I've done that
in like a Target parking lot or anything,
but... (all laughing)
It was years ago, whatever.
Tell us about the new book.
So why did you wanna do this?
What's the reason for wanting to do this?
- Well, we were doing a podcast-
- [Kelly] I know that, yeah. - At the start of the pandemic
and we were bringing on all the actors,
all the writers, directors, crew people,
and, we were like,
we have to...
It's like 300 hours this podcast is gonna be,
but we wanted to find something
that would be more condensed.
We went back and interviewed people to get more stories
'cause there was a lot we didn't put on the podcast,
and this is an oral history.
It's from the mouths of the people who made it.
So this is firsthand behind the scenes information.
- It's so cool. (audience clapping)
- Including the creator David Chase
and 98% of the cast,
so if you're a "Soprano" fan,
you're gonna want this book, it's good.
- Well you need to be living under a rock
not really to be a fan.
So that's why I think it's so cool that you...
It's an amazing thing to be a part of something
so magical, like such a big huge thing of pop culture.
Like did that set in right away for y'all
or did it take like a few seasons?
- No, no, it did not set in.
I mean, we weren't sure if it was even gonna work as a show,
'cause it had not been any real series
on cable that were hits at the time.
And when it came out though,
it got these crazy reviews all over the place,
and then it started to get a following,
and there were billboards,
and that kind of thing,
and it just kept going from there.
Now it seems like it's more popular
than it ever was.
- Yeah.
- And that's amazing
to be a part of- - Amazing.
- Something that huge.
- I think 50 years from now,
they'll still be watching this thing.
- I know, well, that's
a sign of a classic.
Well, the show famously ended
in the middle of a scene and a song.
No one knows if Tony Soprano lived or died,
so what do you think?
- [Steve] I think Tony Soprano is alive and well,
and eating onion rings in New Jersey.
(audience cheering) (Anna laughs)
- [Kelly] I think that sounds awesome.
- That's what I think.
- Okay.
(audience clapping)
I have a feeling you have a different opinion (laughs).
- Of course, he always got a different opinion.
- I saw him, he did the thinking man pose.
- Yeah. - No.
I think the cut to black was his point of view,
and that's end for the character.
That was the last thing he saw
and then it was snuffed out. - Very (indistinct).
- And Michael is wrong Kelly.
(all laughing)
Listen to uncle Steve, Michael's wrong.