Bada bing.
A new documentary about the making of HBO’s mafia hit, “The Sopranos,” covers how the late star James Gandolfini gave money to his fellow cast members – except one.
Now airing on HBO and Max, “Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos” sees series creator David Chase say onscreen about Gandolfini, “He was great to that crew. He made them laugh, and he gave the other cast members $30,000.”
This information was also previously reported in the 2021 book, “Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers.”
According to the book, Gandolfini signed a contract that would pay him $5 million per season. HBO doubled his salary after the third season aired in 2001.
“The Sopranos” aired for six seasons, from 1999 to 2007. Gandolfini died from a heart attack at age 51 in 2013.
In “Wise Guy David Chase and The Sopranos,” fellow cast member Drea de Matteo said, “When Jim [Gandolfini] got the deal, none of us even knew it was on the table. Like we didn’t know to negotiate. I think he felt terrible about that. So, he called us into his trailer, one by one, and gave everybody a check for $30,000.”
However, this didn’t apply to everyone.
Edie Falco, who co-starred as Gandolfini’s onscreen wife, Carmella Soprano, said onscreen in the doc, “What? I never got $30,000. Alright…I don’t know anything about that.” Sounding confused, she repeated, “He gave money to cast members?”
The “Nurse Jackie” alum didn’t seem to have hard feelings, however.
“That sounds like him. He was a very good-hearted kind man, looking out for his friends,” she added.
Chase noted that Gandolfini was “a generous person.”
“I think he felt HBO had f–ked them, and he wanted to do something to make up for it,” he went on. “I think there was also a shred of regret for the days he didn’t show up for work.”
Gandolfini had drug and alcohol issues at the time.
“I think what Jim didn’t know or expect was just how difficult it is to be the lead of a series,” Chase continued.
“The Sopranos” co-star Steven Van Zandt estimated that Gandolfini “probably quit the show every other day.”
“We’d go to a bar, get drunk, have the exact same conversation. He’d say ‘I’m done, I’m not going back!’ There was a few times he disappeared for a few days,” he said in the doc. “You know, it just got to him.”
Falco, meanwhile, said that Gandolfini “was incredibly invested in making that character believable, and unless you’re really diligent, you can end up taking your work home. And as an actor, that’s not always a great idea.”
Drea de Matteo defended Gandolfini, however.
“We all partied, we all had a great f–king time,” she said.
“And maybe there were some mornings where it was a little harder to get out of bed. For all of us. It wasn’t just Jim.”
Co-star Michael Imperioli, for his part, added that Gandolfini “had his own things to work out, like all of us,” and that their fame from the show changed Gandolfini’s life “dramatically.”
Describing how the “eradication of privacy” got strange for Gandolfini, Imperioli said, “He was in the spotlight wherever he went. And he was very different than Tony was. Very laid back…What’s funny is that, a lot of fans look at Tony as a role model, which is very scary in a lot of ways. He probably felt that – fans thinking he’s Tony, and he’s not.”
