It may have first hit screens over 20 years ago, but The Sopranos is still remembered
as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. And there's a whole story behind the scenes
that even the diehard fans may not know. This is the untold truth of The Sopranos.
People assume that The Sopranos could have had any number of different influences. There's
the obvious, of course, like the work of acclaimed directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford
Coppola, and the not so obvious, like creator David Chase's love for the work of arthouse
hero Federico Fellini. But fans and critics alike have long speculated about what exactly
came from where on The Sopranos, and the theories are pretty much endless. However, in an interview
printed in the series compendium The Sopranos Sessions, Chase cited a single crucial inspiration
for The Sopranos: his relationship with his mother.
"Go on, go, go into the ham, and take the carving knife and stab me here, here! Now,
please!"
While Chase has since explained on the record that his childhood wasn't unhappy by any measure,
he still maintains his toxic relationship with his own mom was the model for Tony's
Soprano's relationship with his mother, Livia Soprano. Even though the relationship was
played up for TV, for obvious reasons, specific elements of the relationship did make it to
the screen. Livia's constant talking down to Tony, to name one detail, came right from
Chase's life. In a 2019 interview with the Guardian, Chase admitted:
"My mother was a great one for saying, 'Who do you think you are?'"
The Sopranos may have ended up on HBO, but David Chase's story of a mafioso mired in
mommy issues wasn't always intended for the small screen. Originally, Chase envisioned
the project as a feature comedy about a gang boss and his overbearing mother. When it came
to casting, Chase hoped all-star movie criminal Robert De Niro would play Tony and Anne Bancroft,
who played Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, would play Livia.
Even though the original movie sounds kinda awesome, Chase's project never got too far.
When he pitched the idea to his new agent, he was told it would never work because, apparently,
mob comedies were out of date. His agent cited the box office disappointment of 1988's Married
to the Mob as proof of a studio's likely refusal to bet on a high-concept comedy about organized
crime.
After his movie pitch was rejected, Chase worked on ways to turn the project into a
pilot, and faced a daunting transition to TV. Remember: TV was different back then.
This is before Breaking Bad and The Wire and the golden age of prestige television. Chase
simply didn't think the networks would allow him to portray all the extremely mature themes
he wanted to explore. But if he developed the intersection between Tony's home and work
life, gave Tony's wife and kids larger roles in the show, and cast a woman to play Tony's
shrink, he believed the show might just work.
Chase decided the networks would agree if he placed greater emphasis on its female leads
because, as he puts it in The Sopranos Sessions, network TV drama was very female oriented
at the time. Unfortunately, Chase misjudged the sensibilities of mainstream television
executives, and every major network rejected The Sopranos. Ironically, CBS told Chase that
to even consider the show for production, he had to remove all of the psychiatry scenes.
CBS never specified why those scenes had to go, but Chase suspects it's because the producers
felt the therapy sessions would make Tony appear weak to the audience. Considering The
Sopranos is the show that kicked off two of the best decades in TV history, however, it's
safe to say somebody at CBS kinda missed the point.
Even after HBO greenlit the Sopranos pilot, Chase remained uncertain about the longevity
of his show. Edie Falco, who played Tony's put-upon wife Carmela Soprano, recalled Chase
proclaiming his doubts after the pilot wrapped. In fact, as shooting wrapped up on the show's
first episode, Chase reportedly said something along the lines of:
"Thanks everybody, it was fun while it lasted."
Lucky for Chase himself, his predictions about the response to his show were wrong yet again.
When The Sopranos premiered on January 10th, 1999, critics greeted its arrival with heaps
of praise and the show drew in record viewership numbers for the network. The program maintained
high viewership on HBO throughout its entire run, in fact, some of its network ratings
records remained unbroken until the series finale of Game of Thrones in 2019.
A TV series is only ever as good as its writers, and The Sopranos' writers' room was filled
to the brim with talent during the show's eight-year run. Among the show's many scribes
was Terence Winter, who went on to write The Wolf of Wall Street. Another such talent was
an aspiring show creator named Matthew Weiner, who won his spot on The Sopranos' deep writing
bench with a spec script for his own show; a show concerned with the mundane evils perpetrated
by middle-aged ad executives. That show was called Mad Men.
Chase liked Weiner's script so much he hired him to write for The Sopranos, and later admitted
jealousy over Weiner's own show. In an interview during Vulture Festival, Chase admitted:
"I couldn't have done that."
It's a shame Chase never worked with Weiner on Mad Men, though, as some of the episodes
the pair worked on together for The Sopranos, like season five's Emmy-nominated "Unidentified
Black Males," are some of the best of the series.
While the incredible talent behind the camera gave The Sopranos its wholly unique style
and tone, the talent in front of the camera really brought the show to life. In particular,
James Gandolfini's portrayal of Tony Soprano not only netted the then little-known actor
three Emmys, but also helped the audience forgive Tony's regular debauchery, general
selfishness, and routine acts of extreme violence.
Chase credited Gandolfini's charm in the role as the reason audiences could find sympathy
with a man who casually kills acquaintances and enemies alike. However, the leading man
didn't always find his character so charming, and the performance weighed on him immensely.
During his divorce, Gandolfini's wife alleged he abused drugs and alcohol heavily and punched
himself in the face during arguments. On set, staff heard the exasperated yells Gandolfini
released from his trailer as he psyched himself into character. All in all, it took a lot
from him to play a character as vile as Tony. This stress culminated in January 2002, when
Gandolfini didn't show up to shoot; for three days, no one could find him. Some staffers
recalled waiting for the news to tell them he'd died. Finally, on the fourth day of his
absence, Gandolfini called from a nail salon in Brooklyn and asked to be brought home.
While James Gandolfini's performance centered the show, the chemistry he shared with Edie
Falco gave the familial storylines the depth needed to take a mobster's marital issues
seriously. Falco gave a tour de force performance, bringing home three Emmys, and delivered a
masterclass in acting on set. Speaking about her performance, Chase explained:
"[She] never missed a line. Not one."
While both leads were phenomenal by themselves, however, they both admitted the natural chemistry
between them made their portrayals that much stronger, and their personal lives somewhat
confusing, too. In a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair, James admitted his love for his TV wife,
saying:
"I'm still in love with Edie. And of course, I love my wife but I'm in love with Edie."
Later in the same interview, Falco admitted to feeling jealous during scenes Tony filmed
with his many girlfriends. While any off-set activities between the couple have never been
confirmed, the show was certainly better for the emotions they brought to life on camera.
The excellent performances on The Sopranos came not only from taxing method acting, but
out of real world experience, too. On The Joe Rogan Experience, Steve Schirripa, who
portrayed Bobby "Baccala" Baccalieri, revealed that he grew up around mobsters in Brooklyn,
and called on his experiences for inspiration on the show.
"I knew that world. I wasn't in that world, I went to college, but I knew that world."
Steve went on to explain that as a teenager, he found employment from Matthew Ianniello,
better known as "Matty the Horse," who led the Genovese crime family in the '60s and
'70s. Matthew hired Steve to shuck oysters in Umberto's Clam House. The fishery's sister
and original location on Mulberry Street is, of course, where real-life mobster Crazy Joe
Gallo was murdered, an infamous hit that is depicted in Martin Scorsese's 2019 film The
Irishman. While Schirripa didn't witness any killings himself, his time around hardened
criminals in such low-key settings explains the casual approach he brought to the role,
helping make the Baccala into the wonderful comic relief he so easily became.
Strangely, actors weren't the only elements of Chase's ensemble, he also cast a real life
rock star, Steven Van Zandt, to play Tony's right-hand man and consigliere, Silvio Dante.
Having grown up in New Jersey, Van Zandt was no stranger to the show's setting, but the
actor felt unfamiliar with Silvio's confidence. As Van Zandt told Rolling Stone:
"[Silvio] was fearless...Stevie Van Zandt could not have walked on that stage, believe
me. Silvio Dante could."
Stevie also revealed that the inspiration for Silvio's classic look, including his pompadour
and old school suits, came from Steve's love of the '50s rock 'n' roll aesthetic. Van Zandt's
addition to the cast is another great example of The Sopranos' cast defining the characters
for its audience. Silvio's love for the old school and fearlessness are the defining traits
that solidified him as a fan favorite.
Sometimes on The Sopranos, the talent in front of the camera stepped behind it...with incredible
results. Actor Steve Buscemi, for example, did more than portray Tony's doomed cousin
Tony Blundetto in the show's fifth season. He also directed four episodes of the series,
including season three's eleventh episode, "Pine Barrens."
While Buscemi's portrayal of Blundetto gave The Sopranos one of its most tragic storylines,
"Pine Barrens" is arguably his biggest contribution to the show, especially considering it's often
noted as the show's best episode. The episode follows Chris and Paulie on a routine whack
job deep in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, but it goes awry when their intended victim gets
away and the pair gets lost. The plot is simple and the writing brilliantly showcases everything
that made the show so famous.
"You're not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. The guy was an interior
decorator."
Buscemi's direction also delivers some of the best visual depictions of the show's existential
themes. The shots of Paulie and Chris lost in the woods are composed to exclude notable
marks in the landscape. In the tight shots amongst the trees, the audience is as lost
as its characters, and reminded that these men's codes and hard reputations mean nothing
in the cold woods. The episode also contains arguably the show's best visual gag when Bobby
Baccalieri arrives to help Tony find the lost men...in bright orange hunting regalia.
The series finale of The Sopranos features one of the most controversial moments in television
history. The ending depicts Tony and his family meeting in a diner, while Tony suspiciously
eyes some other patrons who may or may not be there to kill him. Then, out of nowhere,
the screen simply cuts to black…and many viewers were left pretty upset. Nothing like
it has ever been attempted since, after all, viewers can appreciate some ambiguity in films,
but after eight years following a TV show, they tend to want some answers.
On the other hand, some fans love the finale, including Lost creator Damon Lindelof. Lindelof
has called the finale "letter-perfect," but, in fairness, also said he suspected at the
time that his cable had gone out.
In the years since, lots of questions about the finale have been sent Chase's way, but
he's not giving any firm answers. In an interview with the New York Times, when asked if there
is a correct answer to whether Tony is alive or dead, Chase replied:
"I don't think so."
But while there's no hope for finality, there is hope for the fans themselves: as Chase
is revisiting the world of The Sopranos with his upcoming HBO prequel, The Many Saints
of Newark. The movie is set for release in 2021, and features James Gandolfini's son
Michael as a younger Tony Soprano.
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