Edie Falco hadn’t played the role of Carmela Soprano for more than a decade when she was asked to reprise her role for the Sopranos prequel film.
It’s no secret that Carmela originally made a cameo appearance in the 2021 film The Many Saints of Newark.
However, Falco shared memories of the experience while promoting her film “I’ll Be Right There,” which opens in limited release in New York theaters on Friday.
The Emmy winner recently starred in the off-Broadway play “Pre-Existing Condition,” directed by Jersey native Maria Dizzia. She spoke on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” about reprising her role as Carmela for the “Sopranos” movie.
Michael Gandolfini, Michela De Rossi and Alessandro Nivola in The Many Saints of Newark. Warner Bros. Pictures
The prequel film, which begins in the 1960s, depicts the childhood of young Tony Soprano – played by Michael Gandolfini, the son of series star James Gandolfini – and the various forces at work in his family.
“It was a monologue as Carmela… I guess, in modern times, about her family’s experiences when she first came to the States from Italy,” Falco told Meyers (see video below) about her scene in the film.
“There I was standing in the hair and makeup van and having my jewelry put back on,” said 61-year-old Falco. “It was like a dream.”
READ MORE: ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ – David Chase, Michael Gandolfini and Ray Liotta chat about the ‘Sopranos’ prequel.
She described the experience as “shameful” and at the same time “completely and utterly normal,” an experience she had for a decade on the HBO series “The Sopranos,” which premiered in 1999 and ended in 2007.
When Meyers said he had seen the film and couldn’t remember the scene, she mentioned how it was cut. “Sopranos” creator David Chase, who co-wrote and produced the film, told Falco of the decision.
“David called me and said, ‘We’re not going to use that monologue,'” she said. “I just thought, ‘That’s totally fine.’ I got what I wanted, which was a day on set with David and Alan Taylor, who directed.”
Taylor, who won an Emmy for directing The Sopranos, spoke about cutting Falco’s scene in a 2021 interview with NME.
“There was some confusion about how best to start the movie. How to start the movie,” he said. “So we tried a few things and that was one of them. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll notice that we start it very differently now, but that wasn’t always the idea.”
READ MORE: Inside the documentary ‘Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos’ and the cast reunion
“Sopranos” fans know that “The Many Saints of Newark” begins with the return of a long-departed cast member: Christopher Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli.
The voice of Imperioli’s Christopher – the character was killed off in the series – speaks from the grave in a voiceover of a cemetery scene to introduce the film’s story.
Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano with James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in “The Sopranos.” She won three Emmys for this role.Barry Wetcher |
Hearing his voice is especially fitting since one of the film’s main characters is his father, Dickie Moltisanti, played by Alessandro Nivola. Dickie was Carmela’s first cousin in the DeAngelis family.
“Moltisanti” means “Many Saints” in Italian – hence the title of the film.
Falco, who won three Emmys for her portrayal of Carmela in “The Sopranos,” also appears in Alex Gibney’s documentary “Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos,” which airs Saturday (September 7) on HBO.
In June, the actor attended the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, which also served as a cast reunion.
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Amy Kuperinsky can be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup.
