The fearsome gangster Tony Soprano was key to The Sopranos’ success — and James Gandolfini knew it.
Former HBO executive Chris Albrecht says the three-time Emmy winner once held his own in the series by challenging the network to fire him. The tense moment came after the actor felt ambushed during an intervention to address his struggles with substance abuse.
“We did an intervention with him at my apartment in New York,” Albrecht recalls in Max Wise’s new documentary series Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos. “It was to try to get him to go to a rehab facility. We were having a lot of trouble at the time, and the trick was I would invite Jimmy over so we could talk and clear things up.”
Albrecht said the attendees included Gandolfini’s sisters and some of his co-stars, so the star quickly figured out what was going on. “He walked in, and he saw everyone sitting there, and he was like, ‘Oh, shit.’ And he just walked out,” Albrecht said. “Everybody was like, ‘Jimmy, Jimmy!’ And he turned to me and said, ‘Fire me,’ and he walked out.” Gandolfini ultimately stayed with the show until its end, leading the mafia drama for six seasons from 1999 to 2007. Tony Soprano is still hailed as one of the most influential figures in television history, and Gandolfini’s performance was critically acclaimed at the time, earning him three Emmys, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Golden Globe. Steven Van Zandt, who starred in the HBO hit as Silvio Dante, noted that the intervention wasn’t the only time Gandolfini considered leaving the series. “He probably quit the show every other day. Maybe every day,” Van Zandt said in the documentary. “Every other day we’ll go to a bar and we’ll have the same conversation. We’ll be drunk and [he’s] like, ‘I’m done. I can’t, I’m not coming back. ’ And I’ll be like, ‘Okay, you have a hundred people depending on you here. ’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, yeah, okay. ’” Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get the latest TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Van Zandt added that while Gandolfini would usually be back to work the next day, he would also “disappear” for short periods of time, when the pressure of leading the series “got to his head.”
“He put so much into making that character believable, and unless you’re really diligent, you can take your work home with you. And as an actor, that’s not always a great idea,” said his on-screen wife, Edie Falco.
The Sopranos creator David Chase went so far as to liken Gandolfini to the character he famously portrayed. “He was a really good guy and really complicated,” Chase said in Wise Guy. “You could tell, and I’m not sure about this, there was probably more Tony there than he wanted to admit. That things were too easy for him.”
Gandolfini died of a heart attack on June 19, 2013, at the age of 51. Last year marked the 10th anniversary of his sudden death, and several of his co-stars shared heartfelt tributes.
“Forever grateful for doing so much together, spending so much time with you, and for all your generosity and kindness,” Michael Imperioli wrote. “I miss you so much, as do so many people on this planet.”
Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos are available to stream on Max, as are all six seasons of The Sopranos.
