Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) was furious about this scene: 'What the hell is this? I won't do it! '
In the end, James Gandolfini relented and played the scene in question
When the first episode of the cult series "The Sopranos" premiered 22 years ago, the actors in the series certainly did not expect so much success. This planetarily popular drama about the life of mobster Tony Soprano, played by late actor James Gandolfini, had six seasons, and filming ended in 2007.
The series has won numerous awards, and even today it is still talked about. The series and its lead actor are the subjects of the latest book, “Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers,” published in New York magazine.
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There, it is stated that James Gandolfini wholeheartedly opposed the filming of a scene from Season 6 in which his character Tony Soprano masturbates in the bathroom of a gas station. It was this scene that caused his ‘longest and strongest rage’ during the filming of the series.
Gandolfini was outraged by a scenario in which it was written that Tony bursts into the bathroom at a gas station and masturbates during the period of his affair with real estate agent Julianna Skiff, played by Julianna Margulies.
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In the end, Gandolfini gave in and played the scene as it was written, the book states. The scene of the gas station was filmed but then deleted from the episode. Gandolfini did not complain that the author of the series, David Chase, decided to get rid of it.
It is also revealed that sometimes the actor simply could not believe what kind of scenes need to be filmed for the purposes of the series. Sometimes, Gandolfini would decline to do a scene.
"Do I have to do this? What the f**k is this? I'm not doing it," the actor would tell Chase.
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The incarnation of mob boss Tony Soprano has been hailed as one of the most famous in the history of TV, and he has won three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, and awards from the American Film Institute and the Association of Film Actors.
James Gandolfini passed away from a heart attack in 2013, and his son Michael recently embodied the young Tony Soprano in the film "The Many Saints Of Newark."
By: Helen B.
