Sopranos casts quotes about James Gandolfini in Wise Guy documentary

James Gandolfini was memorialized by its former cast members in The sopranos documentary as they revisited the HBO show’s success in a two-part documentary titled Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos.

The film will be released on Saturday, September 7 via HBO and will feature the director Alex Gibbney come face to face with the show’s creator, David Chaseon a set very similar to Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) office. The pair discussed how the show, which premiered in 1999 and aired for six seasons until its controversial series finale in 2007, became a cultural phenomenon.

Amid scenes from the series and Chase’s anecdotes, those involved The sopranos talked about their fearless leader, Gandolfini, who played mob boss Tony Soprano. The actor died of a heart attack in June 2013, six years later The sopranos ended. Gandolfini was featured in the documentary via archived interview footage.

“He was very different from Tony Soprano, he was very relaxed,” Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) said about the late star. “He wore Birkenstocks and liked Green Day and AC/DC. The funny thing is that a lot of fans look at Tony Soprano as some kind of role model, which is very scary in many ways. He probably felt that: people thought he was Tony Soprano, but that’s not the case.”

While the cast and crew had fond memories of working with whom Chase, 79, called a “really complicated” but “good guy,” they also recalled the low points of Gandolfini’s career.

Related: Cast of ‘The Sopranos’: Where Are They Now?

During its six-season run, The Sopranos transformed television as we know it, earning the title as one of the greatest shows of all time. The HBO crime drama began in January 1999 when Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) reluctantly walked into the office of his new psychiatrist, Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), after suffering a panic attack. […]

“You could say, and I’m not sure, maybe there was more Tony there than he wanted to admit. That it was too easy for him, Chase speculated. “People say, ‘The show got darker.’ Well, he got darker.”

Keep scrolling to read The sopranos quotes from cast and crew about Gandolfini in the Wise guy documentary:

Creating Tony Soprano

Chase said it was “pretty clear” that Gandolfini “was Tony through and through” — despite some drama during the actor’s audition.

“He left in the middle of the first audition,” Chase recalls. “But we loved it, so our casting directors had him come to my house and he read the scene. It was like, you know… bang.”

When they started filming the show, Chase knew Gandolfini “understood the character.” He added, “Jim had his own way of becoming Tony Soprano.”

Even though he played such a complicated character, Chase praised the late star for making everyone on set laugh. Former chairman and CEO of HBO Chris Albrecht even declared that Gandolfini was ‘magical’.

Perfecting Tony’s dynamic with Dr. Melfi

“He would just, you know, hang out. He threw kisses at me and took off his clothes,” Bracco recalls. “I mean, he was just a weirdo.”

However, she was able to get him back on set.

“Jim had never been to therapy,” the actress recalled. So that was kind of fun to lead 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. “For him it was like, ‘What’s your attitude in a psychiatrist’s office?’ There were a lot of things he wasn’t used to,” he added.

What Edie Falco said

“It was always great from start to finish,” Falco said of her on-screen husband. “It always felt like I was playing with him.”

It was “easy and hassle-free” to become Tony and Carmela Soprano.

“He was incredibly invested in making that character believable,” she said elsewhere in the film. “Unless you are very diligent, you can end up taking your work home with you. As an actor, that’s not always a good idea. So yeah, I think it may have taken a toll on him.

The story behind the $30,000

Gandolfini famously received a huge pay raise from HBO, previously doubling his salary The sopranos season 4. After the contracts were signed, he shared the wealth with his costars.

“When Jim got the deal, none of us even knew it was on the table.” Drea de Matteo (Adriana La Cerva) recalled. “We didn’t know how to negotiate. I think he felt terrible about that. So he called us all one by one to his trailer and gave everyone a check for $30,000.”

Falco seemed to be joking when discussing the money aspect, telling the documentary makers that she “knows nothing about” the $30,000. “He was a very kind-hearted, friendly man. He looks out for his friends.”

Why did the ‘generous’ Gandolfini give the money? Chase had an idea about that.

“I think he felt like HBO had cheated them. And he wanted to do something to make it right, to help,” the creator explained. “I also think there was maybe an ounce of regret about the days he didn’t show up for work.”

A look into Gandolfini’s struggle

As his fame continued to rise, Gandolfini suffered – quietly at first, but then things started to become public. (Gandolfini struggled with substance abuse as his fame continued to rise.)

Costar Steven Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) said Gandolfini threatened to “leave the show every other day.” While the star always returned to set “a few times, it disappeared for a few days,” Van Zandt recalls. “It just hit him.”

Albrecht said Gandolfini made a deal with the network to give him “$100,000 a day for every day he didn’t show up.” While the show’s star skipping work cost money, it also raised “concerns about what’s happening to him.” Ultimately, the cast and crew attempted to stage an “intervention” with the actor.

“He walked in, he saw everyone sitting there and said, ‘Oh f-k this.’ And he walked out,” Albrecht recalled, noting that Gandolfini said, “Fire me.”

While aware of his hardships, some costars defended Gandolfini. For example, Imperioli said the level of fame was “a bit strange” for the late actor. “That eradication of privacy really put him in the spotlight wherever he went. He didn’t blend in with the crowd,” he added.

De Matteo said the entire cast “partied” together while they were filming. “We had a great time,” she said. “Maybe there were mornings when it was a little harder for all of us to get out of bed. It wasn’t just Jim.”

However, Chase thinks that “Jim didn’t know or expect” what it would be like to lead a series of this caliber.

“He felt like he had to go to places, he said, that were destructive to him. And painful for him,” the creator added.

His reaction to the finale

The sopranos famously has a controversial ending scene – and Gandolfini thought so too.

“Jim said, ‘That’s it?’ … He couldn’t believe it,” Bracco recalled, noting that they watched the final episode together. “I think he was in shock, just like everyone else.”

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