The Many Saints of Newark – Michael Gandolfini opens up about stepping into Tony’s shoes – release date this October

Posted on 5 February 2021
By Pierce King
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The Sopranos shook up the entertainment world, it captivated viewers at the dawn of the modern age of the Channel Hopper’s Nirvana, that we know today.

The exploits of Tony Soprano and his struggle to maintain his power was just simply put, unmissable TV.

The beautifully surreal moments and mind-bending dream sequences… matched with a previously unseen exploration of the domestic woes of a larger than life gangster, can be credited as the start of Hollywood’s transition onto the small screen and long from storytelling.

Now, 13 years after the series ended, a prequel film; The Many Saints Of Newark will be playing in cinemas and streaming on HBO Max in the U.S. this October.

Michael Gandolfini will be succeeding his father as a young Tony. And as the hype builds, Michael who also stars opposite Tom Holland in the Russo brothers’ adaptation of Nico Walker’s Cherry, out this month, has opened about stepping into Tony’s shoes.

When Gandolfini was just 14, his father died of a heart attack, while on vacation in Rome.

Eager fans of the undisputed American classic, are hopeful that this is the role Michael was literally born to play, not least of all for the summers he spent soaking up the accent on the Jersey Shore.

Speaking in a Vanity Fair feature, he said: “Because he was beloved down on there, I would get jobs I was unqualified for, like working at a body shop at eight years old.”

After auditioning for show creator David Chase, Michael convinced himself that if there was even a light worry that it wouldn’t work on screen, he would trust David’s decision implicitly.

Three months later, he got the offer.

Michael added: “I had this unspoken trust that David wasn’t going to cast me if there was even a shred that this isn’t going to work.

“It’s an origin story through the eyes of Dickie Moltisanti, Christopher’s father.

“The Tony Soprano we know has this beautiful vulnerability underneath his rough exterior, but what if we flip that on its side and you watch a creative, hopeful, kind, curious kid get whittled down and formed into what he has to be?”

The … early memories of the Sopranos are few. he recalled: “My dad didn’t want me to see Tony Soprano—the violence, the angry, the mean.

“Of course I would visit him on set and would spend time with him in his trailer, but I had never watched the show… I never knew Tony Soprano. I only knew my dad.”

To immerse himself in the role, after all this time of not being able to watch the show, due to the pain of the grief he felt for for his dad, Michael submerged himself in all six seasons over six weeks.

He described the experience as sublime: “It was really hard to watch my dad.

“So I started by recording four hours of his monologues with Melfi and walked the streets of New York with them constantly, constantly, constantly playing in my ear.”

“The Sopranos… It transcends everything: Republican, Democrat; patriarchy and matriarchy.”

We’re eagerly awaiting this release at Purple Revolver HQ and will keep you posted as news unfolds. Got a thought to share with us, please leave a comment below.