‘The Sopranos’ Cast Reunites For 25th Anniversary Without One Important Star
Many of the stars of the beloved show The Sopranos recently came together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its debut. The show was focused on Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano as he balanced his personal and professional life, plus the mix of characters in his family, Mafia colleagues and rivals. The show ran for six seasons and is often considered one of the best shows ever made. Much of its success was due to the show’s creator David Chase, the writing and its star, the late James Gandolfini.
Chase and many of the actors reunited to talk about the legacy of the series, plus how much they missed one star who could not be in attendance. Sadly, Gandolfini died in 2013 at the age of 51. Steve Schirripa, who played Bobby Baccalieri in the long-running series, opened up about Gandolfini and why he believes people still watch and talk about the show, despite being off the air for almost twenty years.
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He said, “Why? Because the writing was incredible. Because of streaming, it’s all over the world. More people watch ‘The Sopranos’ now than watched it when it was on originally. They loved him because Jim had some magic in him, but you saw this damaged heart or something in that character.”
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Drea de Matteo and Jamie-Lynn Sigler added that they didn’t even know what kind of show they were auditioning for when they showed up. Just based on the title, they thought it was an opera. Sigler explained, “All the information I was given was a 16-year-old Italian-looking girl for a show called ‘Sopranos.’ I come from a musical theater background, so I was stoked thinking it was going to be singing for television. So I think I remember kind of looking around, noticing there’s no accompanist or — so should I sing a cappella? And I remember David telling me that was not necessary.”
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Sigler added about Gandolfini, “I felt protected by him and loved by him. And he really was one of a kind, and I feel very lucky to have been guided by him for as long as I was.” The cast all agreed that he was a great guy and his loss is still deeply felt.
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