While filming one of their first ever scenes together in The Sopranos, Michael Imperioli wrecked a car, with James Gandolfini sat next to him.
"I didn’t know how to drive," says Imperioli, from his home in California, where he's talking to me over Zoom. "I lived in New York City and a lot of people don’t drive, but I pretended I did because I wanted the job and and didn’t want to say, 'Hey, I don’t drive!', because then they'd have got somebody who did... At least that was my thinking. I thought, 'How hard can it be?'"
Driving was, it turns out, quite hard.
"I ended up smashing the car really badly. For a few seconds I thought, 'This guy's going to...' because I didn’t know him. There was this lull, this pause after the crash, and then he turned and started cracking up laughing. That really set the tone from the beginning and then we became very close."
More than two decades have passed since The Sopranos, with its ensemble cast of wise guys, sociopaths, wise guy sociopaths, mobsters, shysters, dysfunctional families, crooked agents and human collateral damage arrived on HBO, launching the era of prestige television, and paving the way for the Dons, the Walters and the Stringers; the small screen's 'Golden Age'. As gangster Christopher Moltisanti, Michael Imperioli was the charming, jittery, wide-eyed and murderous foil to James Gandolfini's hulking, balding, depressed suburban mob boss, Tony Soprano. Imperioli appeared in each of the show's six seasons and wrote several of its episodes.
"I remember reading the pilot and it was really hard to tell what kind of a show it would be. I wasn’t sure if it was a spoof, or a straight comedy with some violence, I just knew that I liked the role a lot. Initially I based him [Christopher] on someone I knew back 'then' who was peripherally involved in the mob, whose personality was kind of larger then life. I’ve never told that guy. I’ve never told anyone, actually."
Despite, in television terms at least, its relative old age, The Sopranos has proven to be a resurgent hit of the quarantine era. Maybe it's the fact that people finally have time to plough through 86 episodes of prestige cable drama, or maybe its the timelessness of the themes and characters. According to HBO, viewership of The Sopranos increased by 179 per cent in America during the first three weeks of the country's stay-at-home order, making it the network's second most popular show (after Westworld... weirdly). Many people who had never seen the show are suddenly obsessed (myself included).
![seven members of the sopranos cast got together at the atlantic city hilton and resorts casinos in atlantic city for a meet n greet and tell all q a session the members present tony soprano james gandolfini, christopher moltisanti michael imperioli, meadow soprano jamie lynn sigler, paulie walnuts gualtieri tony sirico, bobby bacala baccalieri steve schirripa, artie bucco john ventimiglia and johnny sack sacramoni vincent curatola on saturday june 23, 2007 photo by tom brigliafilmmagic](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-116807719-1590586337.jpg?resize=980:* ""The Sopranos" Cast Q&A at Atlantic City Hilton and Resorts Casinos")
"What I've discovered is that, over the last few years, a whole new generation of fans have picked up on the show. People in their early twenties or thirties. People who were too young to watch it when it first came out. I think the Italian-American mafia has a certain allure. The colour and the sense of humour and the fashion sense and that sense of family and loyalty. I think there’s an old world aspect to it that people find interesting. Also, it was just a well-made and well-written show."
That new surge of popularity could also be attributed to how The Sopranos dealt with themes that feel highly prescient to today's mood; the grappling with male insecurity, a lingering sense of doom, complicated friendships and the grey areas of getting by. Maybe less so the grizzly murder and skull cracking, but the other stuff still feels relatable. It's also really, really funny.
"Especially in the first season, a lot of what Christopher is dealing with is trying to feel like a man and trying to earn respect in that world, which is violent, a world where the codes of masculinity are very specific," says Imperioli, on the subject of his morally ambiguous character. "Engaging with oral sex with a woman is considered less than masculine, for example. So yes, it’s very interesting and very complicated and difficult to abide by. In Tony's case he really looks at himself as a toxic human being beyond masculinity. Is his essence and essential nature toxic? Does everyone he comes into contact with suffer? That’s something that Tony grapples with throughout the whole series.
"[Gandolfini] was very different to Tony. He wasn’t a bully or a tough guy. I mean, he was tough, but he didn’t use that to intimidate people. He was more like a hippy actually, but for the role he was 'big' and that physicality brought another dimension. He was, somehow, bigger than he actually was in some scenes. I don't know, some of that acting magic."
There's also the small matter of The Sopranos' clothes, which appear to be riding that nascent wave of 2000's nostalgia. The big suits, louche tracksuits and sporty sunglasses. Tony's myriad Cuban collar shirts and Christopher's leather jackets and Nike sportswear. Imperioli has, inadvertently, found himself as something of a TV style icon.
"The clothes always bring you into character. They affect A: how you see yourself and B: how your body feels and how you move. The clothes for Christopher especially were awesome. A lot of his clothes I wore in my own life because they were really nice. The suits, even the jogging suits were cool.
"I know David [Chase, the show's creator] wanted everyone to look sharp. Their hair is always done. No one grows out the hair unless it’s the morning and Tony is just out of bed. You look at some of the old footage of the mob at the social clubs and the clothes follow that. There’s the casual look, which is the jogging suits and jeans and a nice shirt, and then there’s the suit for going out. Even when it’s casual, there’s a feel and a swag to the outfits."
Now 54, until recently Imperioli had never seen an episode of the series that made his name. That changed a couple of months ago when, along with his friend and co-star Steve Schirripa, who played Bobby Bacala, the two started the podcast 'Talking Sopranos', as an act of reminiscence, inviting their various cast-mates on for deep dives into its most famous episodes and moments. Imperioli's voice — New York, but mellow — feels tailor-made for the airwaves (plus YouTube).
"Going back to it with fresh eyes was a great experience. With hindsight, it’s a bittersweet experience too, as a bunch of the people both in front of and behind the camera have passed away, most notably Jim Gandolfini. It’s more sweet than bitter, though.
"We shot the pilot in 1997 and the last episode aired in 2007, a lot happened in those 10 years. I had two kids, other people had kids. There were marriages and deaths, life happened in those 10 years and we all became part of this hit together. We experienced this big success and it bonded us. It's something that we’re proud of. It was certainly an emotional experience to move on from, so now, 20 years later, it's been nice to finally look back."
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