Michael Imperioli believes that recreating The Sopranos today would be far more challenging due to changes in the industry.
Michael Imperioli, alongside James Gandolfini, is one of the biggest stars to have come out of The Sopranos. However, the former, who played the role of Christopher Molisanti on the show, seems to believe that recreating such a series in the modern era may prove to be a much bigger challenge than back when the series first came out, in 1999.
Comparing The Sopranos with the likes of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, Imperioli claimed that the three shows changed the landscape of storytelling. He also believes that similar series will be packaged with ‘big stars,’ in the modern era.
Imperioli believes The Sopranos cannot be recreated in the modern era
James Gandolfini, alongside the rich cast of actors who grew famous due to The Sopranos, were not as huge stars before the show began. As a matter of fact, alongside Breaking Bad and Mad Men, it brought forth ‘relatively unknown’ actors to the public sphere: (via Variety)
The Sopranos, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad were really three big ones that kind of changed the landscape of storytelling, and you had three male leads who were relatively unknown to the public. Now, if any of those things were to be pitched to Netflix or HBO, I’m sure they’d be packaged with big stars.
Imperioli does have a point. Due to the advent of streaming and bigwigs such as Netflix and HBO willing to invest big bucks, such a groundbreaking storyline will surely come packaged with big stars.
While that surely increases the series’ chances of being viewed around the world, it also means that organic superstars such as Bryan Cranston and James Gandolfini may have found it more difficult to make it big, in the current sphere.
The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men have an obvious similarity
The Sopranos was a groundbreaking series that redefined television drama. Similarly, Mad Men and Breaking Bad introduced audiences to complex antiheroes. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) was a self-destructive advertising executive with a hidden past, while Walter White (Bryan Cranston) evolved from a struggling high-school chemistry teacher to the ruthless drug kingpin, Heisenberg.
These roles catapulted Gandolfini, Hamm, and Cranston into superstardom, something that may not have happened in today’s casting environment. All three of the stars were not the kind of major actors who would be expected to lead the series in the modern arena. While the approach may have its perks as well, not many fans can even imagine any other actor in the roles mentioned above. In that sense, Michael Imperioli surely has a point, which may hint at a problematic trend for upcoming actors.
