( APPLAUSE ).
>> Stephen: HEY, HEY, EVERYBODY!
WE'RE BACK WITH THE STAR OF "THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK,"
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA.
ALESANDRO, THE CREATOR OF "THE SOPRANOS," DID HE GIVE YOU
HINTS ON HOW TO PLAY DICKIE?
>> WELL -- >> Stephen: BACK STORY?
>> HE'S-- HE'S-- HE'S NOT THE MOST FORTHCOMING MAN.
HE KEEPS HIS CARDS CLOSE TO HIS CHEST.
BUT HE DID GIVE ME A LITTLE WORD OF ADVICE, WHICH WAS "DON'T PAY
ATTENTION TO ANYTHING THAT ANYONE SAID ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER
ON THE SERIES, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL LIARS.
THE
>> Stephen: WOW!
THAT'S GREAT.
>> THEY ARE.
YOU KNOW.
>> Stephen: RAY LIOTTA PLAYS YOUR FATHER IN THE FILM.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE PLAYING ESSENTIALLY GANGSTER SCENES
AGAINST ONE OF THE "GOODFELLAS."
>> RAY WAS ONE OF MY IDOLS GROWING UP, AND I-- I ACTUALLY
FELT THERE WAS A LOT OF SIMILARITY BETWEEN HENRY HILL,
HIS CHARACTER IN "GOODFELLAS" AND THE CHARACTER I WAS PLAYING,
AND THEY BOTH ARE KIND OF CONFUSED BY THEIR OWN VIOLENCE
AND, YOU KNOW, THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT THEY DO.
SO I-- I HAD WATCHED THAT MOVIE 100 TIMES BEFORE WE STARTED
FILMING, AND I WAS NERVOUS ABOUT COMING TO DO SCENES WITH HIM.
AND THE FIRST-- ONE OF THE FIRST SCENES THAT WE HAD TO SHOOT WAS,
LIKE, A VERY VIOLENT FIGHT THAT WE GET INTO IN A CAR.
AND IT'S CLOSE QUARTERS, AND WE WERE-- WE WERE-- IT WASN'T ONE
OF THOSE SCENES THAT WAS HIGHLY CHOREOGRAPHED, WHERE, YOU KNOW,
POW, YOU HIT HIM, AND YOUR HEAD GOES THAT WAY, AND THEN HE HITS
YOU THAT WAY.
IT WAS MESSY.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, HANDS AND FACES AND KNOW--
>> Stephen: AGAIN-- >> FINGERS UP NOSE.
ME AND MY DAD.
>> Stephen: SURE, SURE.
>> FAMILIAR STUFF.
YOU'VE BEEN THERE.
>> Stephen: 100%.
>> AND WE'D BEEN SHOOTING THIS FOR HOURS AND HOURS, AND WE GOT
TO ABOUT 5:00 A.M., WE WERE ALL EXHAUSTED, AND BY TOTAL
ACCIDENT, I TAGGED HIM IN THE JAW.
AND I-- AND IMMEDIATELY, I WAS LIKE, "OH, NO!
OH, NO!
I JUST TAGGED MY IDOL."
AND I WENT HOME THAT NIGHT JUST-- JUST, LIKE, HATING
MYSELF.
AND I LAY IN BED, AND I STARED AT THE CEILING ALL NIGHT.
I COULDN'T GET TO SLEEP.
AND I FINALLY DRIFTED OFF, AND THE PHONE RANG.
AND IT'S RAY.
AND HE SOUNDS LIKE HE'S GOT HIS MOUTH FULL OF COTTON OR
SOMETHING.
( LAUGHTER )
RAY.
I'M-- I'M IN A HOSPITAL ON THE UPPER EAST SIDE.
YOU BROKE MY JAW."
( AUDIENCE REACTS ) >> AND I'M LIKE...
WHAT?
LIKE, I MEAN, I-- I MEAN, I'M SO SORRY THAT I HIT YOU, BUT, LIKE,
I DIDN'T HIT YOU THAT HARD."
AND HE'S LIKE, "NO, NO, LISTEN I TONIGHT WANT YOU TO WORRY ABOUT
IT.
THEY GOT GREAT PILLS HERE."
AND I'M LIKE-- AND I'M LIKE, MY HEART RATE'S GOING UP AND UP AND
UP.
AND HE'S LIKE, "LISTEN, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT.
THESE THINGS HAPPEN."
AND I'M THINKING THIS IS MY FIRST BIG BREAK.
I'M LIKE ALMOST 50 YEARS OLD, AND IT'S MY BIG BREAK AS AN
ACTOR, AND I'VE JUST BROKEN THE JAW OF MY COSTAR, THEY'RE GOING
TO FIRE ME.
>> Stephen: SURE, SURE.
>> THE MOVIE'S OVER.
HE'S LIKE, "IT'S ALL GOING TO BE FINE.
I'M ONLY GOING TO BE OUT TWO WEEKS.
THEY WIDER MY JAW SHUT."
AND BY THIS TIME I'M IN FULL-BLOWN PANIC ATTACK
( LAUGHING ) "I GOT YOU!"
HE'S DOING, LIKE -- >> Stephen: THEN YOU WANT TO
PUNCH HIM.
THEN YOU WANT TO REALLY POP HIM.
>> HE'S DOING THE "GOODFELLAS" LAUGH.
>> Stephen: IS THIS TRUE?
I HEARD THAT YOU WERE THE LEAD IN 12 MOVIES, 12 MOVIES, THAT
WERE NEVER RELEASED.
>> UHKNOW-- BY THE WAY, THESE WERE NOT, LIKE, CANDY-CAM, HOME
MOVIE S.
>> Stephen: THESE WERE NOT HOME MOVIES.
>> THIS WAS LIKE CHRIS WALKEN-- "FIVE DOLLARS A DAY," CHRIS
WALKEN.
>> Stephen: NEVER RELEASED.
>> NEVER RELEASED.
RACHEL WEIS AND I STARRED IN A MOVIE CALLEDIMENT" YOU."
I'M SURE YOU HAVE HEARD OF IT.
ONE MOVIE WAS "1% MORE HUMAN" WITH JUNEAU TEMPLE, ANOTHER
GREAT ACTRESS ON "TED LASSO."
I WON BEST ACTOR AT THE TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL FOR THIS MOVIE,
NEVER GOT RELEASED.
( APPLAUSE )
LET'S CLAP TO THAT!
>> Stephen: YOU HAVE A VERY ITALIAN-SOUNDED NAME, ALESSANDRO
NIVOLA.
NIVOLA IS A HAZEL NUT COOKIE, ISN'T IT?
LIKE A SHOT OF AN ESPRESSO AND THE NIVOLA ON THE SIDE?
>> IT'S ONE OF THE MANY INTERPRETATIONS PEOPLE COME UP
WITH.
>> Stephen: HAS IT BEEN A BIT OF A HINDRANCE.
HAS EVERYBODY CAST YOU AS AN, ITALIAN?
>> THIS IS THE FIRST ITALIAN ROLE I HAD.
>> Stephen: NO ONE THOUGHT TO CAST YOU AS AN ITALIAN.
>> I DID A LOT OF ENGLISH PARTS IN THE BEGINNING OF MY CAREER.
NOBODY KNOWS WHAT TO MAKE OF MY CAREER.
I PLAYED SO MUCH DIFFERENT PARTS-- NICOLAS CAGE, WHEN I DID
"FACE/OFF," HE TOOK ME ASIDE ONE NIGHT-- WE GOT TO BE PRETTY
CLOSE FRIENDS FOR A WHILE.
WE WERE DRIVING MOTORCYCLES AROUND HAWAII.
>> Stephen: WOW.
>> AND I'M REMEMBERING THE GOOD OLD DAYS.
AND HE WAS SITTING DOWN IN THE BASEMENT WITH ME ONE NIGHT, WE
WERE DRINKING WINE.
AND WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT MY CAREER, WHICH LIKE, YOU KNOW,.
>> Stephen: SURE.
>> SOMETIMES I LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND HE SAID, "YOU KNOW, ALESANDRO, WHO DO YOU WANT TO
BE, MAN?
IAND I'M LIKE, "I DON'T KNOW, ANYBODY EXCEPT MYSELF; SOMEBODY
ELSE."
"WELL, YOU GOTTA FIGURE THAT OUT."
( LAUGHTER ).
>> Stephen: HAS HE FIGURED IT OUT.
>> I OBVIOUSLY NEVER DID.
>> Stephen: HAS HE FIGURED IT OUT.
>> NO, HE'S NIC, MAN, THERE'S NO MISTAKING HIM.
>> Stephen: I'M GOING TO WATCH THAT MOVIE AGAIN RIGHT NOW.
FIRST I'M GOING TO WATCH "THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK," WHICH IS
IN THEATERS AND STREAMING ON HBOMAX ON FRIDAY.
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA, EVERYBODY.
ALESANDRO, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.