One ‘very uncomfortable’ moment almost sank the documentary ‘Sopranos’

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, the director of HBO’s upcoming documentary Smart Guy: David Chase and The Sopranosrecalled to The New York Post the “very awkward” moment when Chase “almost walked away” from the project.

Gibney, a self-proclaimed Sopranos fan whose extensive credits include the Scientology exposé Become clearwas inspired to create a profile Sopranos creator Chase and his groundbreaking mafia series after meeting the creator and finding him “a fascinating and wonderful character.”

“I realized that there had to be an interesting film made about…how (The Sopranos) was made, and…how personal it was to him,” Gibney said. “That came from David’s relationship with his mother,” he added. “His mother issues were the driving force behind The Sopranos. I found that interesting.”

“He’s been in therapy for a while, so to a certain extent he was willing to go there,” Gibney said of Chase’s agreement to participate in the docuseries, which premieres Sept. 7 on HBO.

But despite that intriguing thesis, Chase “almost walked out” on Gibney during the first day of production, which took place on a set that meticulously mimicked the office of Tony Soprano’s (James Gandolfini) therapist, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco). Once Gibney started asking personal questions, Chase backed off.

“‘What am I doing, talking about myself?'” Gibney recalled Chase saying. “‘Who the hell is going to give a shit?’ And he almost walked away.”

Gibney continued, “But he didn’t. He stayed. I think he’s a very thoughtful man, and he’s done a fair amount of self-reflection.” The director added that while they eventually smoothed things over, the incident on set was “very uncomfortable.”

Gibney did admit, however, that he still would have made the documentary even if Chase had declined to participate. “There’s always a way (to continue the project). But that would have been awkward if the lead character had decided not to appear,” he admitted.

Smart guy features archival interviews with Gandolfini before his death at age 51 in 2013, as well as co-stars Michael Imperioli, Drea De Matteo, Edie Falco and Bracco. Also featured in the two-episode documentary are network executive Chris Albrecht’s recollections of staging an intervention for Gandolfini, who struggled with substance abuse throughout the series.

“(Gandolfini) is so important to this show, and he’s such an extraordinary actor,” Gibney said New YorkP-news. “And for this role, he gave it such a dimension. But he also had some pretty well-known struggles of his own. His own personal struggles.”

Smart Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos premieres Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. on HBO. Watch the trailer below.