Sopranos Cast Quotes About James Gandolfini in Wise Guy Documentary

James Gandolfini was memorialized by former cast members Sopranos documentary when they revisited the success of the HBO show in a two-part documentary titled Wise Men: David Chase and The Sopranos.

Released through HBO on Friday, September 7, the film shows the director Alex Gibney sitting face to face with the creator of the show, David Chasein a set that looks very similar to Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) office. The pair discussed how the show, which premiered in 1999 and ran for six seasons until its controversial series finale in 2007, became a cultural phenomenon.

In the midst of scenes from the series and anecdotes Chase, who participated Sopranos talking about the fearless leader, Gandolfini, who plays mob boss Tony Soprano. The actor died of a heart attack in June 2013, six years later Sopranos finished. Gandolfini is featured in the documentary through archival interview footage.

“He’s very different from Tony Soprano, he’s very relaxed,” Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) said of the last star. “He wears Birkenstocks and likes Green Day and AC/DC. The funny thing is that a lot of fans see Tony Soprano as a role model – that’s scary. He might feel: people think he’s Tony Soprano and he’s not.

While the cast and crew have fond memories of working with Chase, 79, who they describe as “really complicated” but a “nice guy,” they also remember the low points of Gandolfini’s career.

related: ‘The Sopranos’ cast: Where are they now?

For six seasons, The Sopranos transformed television as we know it, earning it the title of one of the greatest shows of all time. The HBO crime drama begins in January 1999 with Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) reluctantly walking into the office of his new psychiatrist, Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), after having a panic attack. (…)

“You could say, and I’m not sure about this, maybe there’s more to Tony than he wants. It’s too easy for him,” Chase speculated. “People say, ‘The show is getting dark.’ Well, he’s getting darker.”

Keep scrolling to read Sopranos cast and crew quotes about Gandolfini Wise Man documentary:

Make Tony Soprano

Chase said it was “quite obvious” right off the bat that Gandolfini “was Tony” through and through – despite some drama with the actor’s audition.

“He left in the middle of the first audition,” Chase recalled. “But we thought he was great, so the casting director asked him to come to my house and he read the scene. It was like, you know…bang.”

When they started filming the show, Chase knew that Gandolfini “knew the character.” He added, “Jim has his own way of being Tony Soprano.”

Even though he plays a complicated character, Chase praised the late star for making everyone laugh on set. Former chairman and CEO of HBO Chris Albrecht even stated that Gandolfini was “magic.”

Perfecting Tony’s Dynamics With Dr. Melfi

“He would just, you know, fk around. He would kiss me and take his clothes off,” Bracco recalled. “I mean, he’s just crazy.”

However, he was able to return to her on the set.

“Jim has never been to therapy,” the actress said. So happy to guide him, push him, manipulate him in a way.

Chase said Gandolfini and Bracco “rehearsed for three days” before shooting Tony’s first scene in therapy. “To him it was like, ‘What’s your attitude in the psychiatrist’s office?’ There are a lot of unusual things to do,” he said.

What Edie Falco said

“It was always good from start to finish,” Falco told his onscreen wife. “You must have enjoyed playing with him.”

It’s “easy and carefree” to be Tony and Carmela Soprano.

“He’s so invested in making the character believable,” he says elsewhere in the film. “If you are not really diligent, you can go home. As an actor that is not always a good idea. So, yes, I think it may have caused him.

The Story Behind $30,000

Gandolfini famously received a massive salary increase from HBO, doubling his salary ahead of Sopranos season 4. After the contract was signed, he shared his wealth with his costars.

“When Jim got the deal, nobody knew it was on the table,” Drea de Matteo (Adriana La Cerva) remembers. “We don’t know how to negotiate. I think he felt bad about that. So, he called us all to the trailer one by one and gave us a check for $30,000.

Falco appeared to be joking when discussing the money aspect, telling the documentary filmmakers that he didn’t “know” about the $30,000. “He’s really nice and kind. Looking out for his friends.”

Why did the “cheap” Gandolfini give him the money? Chase had an idea about it.

“I feel that HBO has considered him. And he wants to do something to solve it, to help,” explained the creator.

Inside the Gandolfini Struggle

As his fame continued to rise, Gandolfini suffered — quietly at first, but then became public. (Gandolfini struggled with substance abuse as his fame continued to rise.)

Costars Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) said Gandolfini threatened to “quit the show every day.” While the stars always come back to set “many times, they disappear for a few days,” Van Zandt remembers. “It just got to him.”

Albrecht said Gandolfini made a deal with the network to “provide $100,000 a day for every day he doesn’t show up.” When the star of the show skipping work needs money, it also creates “anxiety about what will happen to him.” Eventually, the cast and crew tried to “intervene” with the actor.

“He walks in, he sees everybody sitting there, and he goes, ‘Oh this.’ And he was out,” Albrecht recalled, noting that Gandolfini said, “Fire me.”

When they saw difficulties, some costars defended Gandolfini. Imperioli, for one, said the level of fame was “a little strange” for the late actor. “It takes away privacy, they are really in the spotlight wherever they are. They don’t mix with the crowd,” he said.

De Matteo said the cast were all “partying” together while filming. “We have a great f-king time,” she said. “There are probably some mornings when it’s a little hard to get out of bed for all of us. Not just Jim.”

Chase, however, only thinks that “Jim does not know or expect” what it would be like to lead a series of this caliber.

“He felt he had to go to a place, he said, that destroyed him. And it was painful for him,” added the creator.

Reaction to the Finale

Sopranos famously has a controversial final scene – and Gandolfini thinks so too.

“Jim said, ‘This one?’ … They couldn’t believe it,” Bracco recalled, noting that they watched the final episode together. “I was shocked, just like everyone else.”

Wise Men: David Chase and The Sopranos available now on HBO and Max.