Secrets of how The Sopranos became a ‘cult hit’ including strict ‘stick to the script’ policy & insane food on set

A STAR from The Sopranos has shared what life was really like working on the set of the beloved mobster epic ahead of a new documentary special chronicling how the hit HBO show came to be.

Joseph R. Gannascoli, who played Vito Spatafore for five seasons, told The U.S. Sun that working on The Sopranos alongside the late, great James Gandolfini and co. was both a life-changing experience and quite possibly a life-saving one.

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Across its six-season run, The Sopranos brought to life a colorful cast of memorable characters and crafted unforgettable storylines punctuated by bursts of graphic violence, dark humor, and iconic one-liners.

But the David Chase-created show was more than just a typical mob story; it was a groundbreaking phenomenon that served as subtle social commentary, tackling the then-taboo topics of male mental health, toxic masculinity, and even sexuality.

And it was Gannascoli’s character that was at the center of one of The Sopranos’ boldest convention-challenging explorations.

During the final season, Vito Spatafore – Tony Soprano’s highest-earning capo – was revealed to be a closeted gay man.

The topic of homosexuality in the mob wasn’t just new to The Sopranos but to the mafia genre as a whole, and Vito’s character arc earned the swooning praise of critics.

The idea to explore Vito’s sexuality had actually been Gannascoli’s own after he read a book about the DeMeo crew, a Brooklyn-based gang linked to the Gambino crime family, that in part chronicled the life of Vito Arena, a prolific car thief, robber, and murderer who was homosexual and became known as “The Gay Hitman.”

The idea was passed up the chain to David Chase who eventually chalked it into the script.

“That (decision) changed my life,” Gannascoli told The U.S. Sun earlier this year.

“That moment was groundbreaking (for TV) and for me it was pivotal, it changed my life for the better and opened up so many doors.

“If it didn’t happen who knows where I’d be? I’d probably still be alone in an apartment, smoking cigarettes, which I gave up 15 years ago.

“My life would’ve probably been totally different. Who knows if I’d even still be alive.”

Despite the abundance of on-screen feuds across the show’s 86 episodes, behind the scenes, Gannascoli said the cast of The Sopranos felt like a tight-knit family where everyone looked out for and supported one another.

He said everyone knew how special the show was and relished each moment existing within its rich universe.

Sharing some secrets from the set, Gannascoli said that one thing the actors weren’t allowed to do was change a single word from the script.

“It’s all about the dialogue, that’s what made The Sopranos so special because the dialogue was just brilliant,” Gannascoli shared.

“You couldn’t change a word, you had to say everything that was written in the script word for word.

“If someone had an issue with a line, and they said, ‘I don’t think my character would say this,’ all the writers would come over, there’d be a long discussion, and then word would come back that David (Chase) had said no, it stays the way he wrote it.

“It stays the way it’s written, and by the way, David said, ‘Who says it’s your character? You get that?’

“It was written perfectly, so there was no need to change it.”

FAMILY FEAST

True to Italian-American culture, food played a large role in the lives of David Chase’s characters, whether at a meeting of the minds at Artie Bucco’s restaurant Nuovo Vesuvio, scheming at the dimly lit bar at the Bada Bing!, gabbing at the outdoor table at Satriale’s Pork Store, or arguing around the Soprano family table.

Often, such locations served as crucial battlegrounds where so many of the show’s most memorable arguments and fights played out.

Sometimes the actors played with their food during these scenes and other times they lapped up what was on their plate.

In some instances, food would even be used as a weapon.

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Tony Soprano’s mistress Gloria Trillo (Annabella Sciorra) launched a London Broil at her lover during an argument in one scene, and in another classic exchange, Tony and Artie Bucco engaged in a food fight in the Soprano’s kitchen during a party.

According to Gannascoli, the culinary delights featured in the scenes were more than just decorative – they were high-quality meals and dishes.

Food was such a huge component in the Sopranos’ run and that was also true even off camera, he added.

“They always made a point to have good food on set, whether it was in the scene that you’re shooting, or if you were staying late, they would get it from the best sushi restaurant or one of the good Italian places around the studio,” said Gannascoli.

That moment was groundbreaking (for TV) and for me it was pivotal, it changed my life for the better and opened up so many doors. If it didn’t happen who knows where I’d be?

Joseph R. GannascoliThe Sopranos actor

“It was always good. Even the food they catered when you broke for lunch.

“I used to say, you know you’ve got to get back to work and you don’t want to feel uncomfortable after eating too much, but I could definitely do some damage.

“I used to try to pull back – really try – but it was easier said than done because the food was delicious.”

Steve Schirripa, who played Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri, shared similar sentiments to Gannascoli in an interview with The Spokesman-Review earlier this year.

“Food was a huge part of the show,” Schirripa said.

“It was fitting since Italians eat at all times. We eat when we’re happy. We eat when we’re sad. We even go to a restaurant to break up.

“They fed us well,” he said. “Every day there was soppressata and provolone. We never went hungry.”

Did Tony Die?: Vito has his say

By Luke Kenton

DID Tony die at the end of The Sopranos? It’s a question that has continued to torment and divide fans of the beloved HBO series since its final episode controversially dipped to black almost 17 years ago.

The finale, Made in America, aired on June 10, 2007, and was watched live by almost 12 million Americans.

In the closing scene, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) walks into a local Jersey diner to have dinner with his family and chooses to play Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing on a table-side jukebox.

One by one, members of the Soprano clan arrive, beginning with Tony’s wife Carmela (Edie Falco), followed by their son AJ (Robert Iler), while their daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is having trouble parallel parking outside.

Each time a Soprano family member walks into the diner, a bell rings above the door, and the viewer is transported to Tony’s point of view.

As Journey’s ’80s hit blasts throughout the eatery, there is a recurring shot of a man wearing a “Members Only” jacket sitting at the counter, constantly looking shiftily over his shoulder at Tony.

Eventually, the man walks past Tony and goes into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Meadow manages to finally park after several failed attempts. She starts running towards the diner’s entrance, and, as the bell rings, right before Tony looks up, the screen cuts to black.

The blackout lasts for an agonizing 10 seconds before the final credits roll, bringing an epic and ambiguous end to Tony Soprano’s story.

Many of the millions of stunned Americans watching were left furiously screaming at their television sets, believing their cable connection had cut out at the most pivotal moment before the closing titles showed.

Among them was Joseph R. Gannascoli, who appeared for five seasons in the beloved mobster epic as Vito Spatafore.

Gannascoli told The U.S. Sun he watched the finale with a group of his friends in South Philly.

Calling the closing scene the “greatest ever ending” of any TV show, he recounted, “I was like, ‘What the f**k? Tell me your TV didn’t just go out.’ And everybody else was like, ‘What the f**k?’

“I was scrambling checking the cable, banging the side of the TV, and then after, I don’t know how long (…) the credits came up and I went, ‘Holy s**t!'”

What happened to Tony Soprano next remains the topic of fierce debate even today.

On one side of the fence is the “Tony was whacked” camp, who believe the kingpin was most likely assassinated by the man wearing the Members Only jacket when he returned from the bathroom as Meadow was walking inside the diner.

As the theory goes, the man wearing the jacket entering the bathroom mirrors Tony’s favorite scene in The Godfather, when Michael Corleone takes a planted gun behind a restaurant’s toilet to avenge his father’s attempted assassination.

Additionally, backers of the theory point to the tolling bell above the door as evidence of Tony’s grisly fate.

On the other side of the fence, however, are more optimistic viewers who believe Tony didn’t die, and the searingly intense final moments of the show instead serve as a metaphor for the life of paranoia that awaits him in the years ahead.

In that camp is Gannascoli, who says he can’t bring himself to believe that Tony was killed.

He told The U.S. Sun, “I don’t think he would’ve got killed in front of his family like that. Usually with a big boss, you wouldn’t do that in front of his family.

“So I like to think all that tension building – and this is just my theory – but I don’t feel like Tony died. I just think he went on living (…) I just think that the door closed and that was it. Life went on. That’s how I feel.

“I don’t want to think about him getting killed or arrested and so on. So that’s what happened, for me.”

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Before landing the role of Vito Spitafore in The Sopranos, Gannascoli enjoyed his own love affair with food training as a chef and working in kitchens across Manhattan and New Orleans.

During this time, Gannascoli also racked up a dangerous gambling habit and, in 1990, lost $60,000 betting on a single football match.

To cover his losses, Gannascoli was forced to sell a stake in a restaurant he co-owned and fled New York for Los Angeles.

There he began focusing his energy more on acting than cooking.

Three years later he landed a small part in the movie Money For Nothing, starring John Cusack, Benito Del Toro, and his future Sopranos co-star James Gandolfini, which kick-started his acting career.

In 1999, Gannascoli was cast in a small role in the first season of The Sopranos, appearing as a customer named Gino in a bakery run by Tony Soprano’s protégé and nephew, Christopher Moltisanti.

He was brought back for the second season as Vito Spatafore, a member of the Soprano crime family where he remained a largely peripheral character until Season 6 when his sexuality became a central plotline.

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Gannascoli said he isn’t sure why he was recast in another role, but joked that he liked to think David Chase “recognized talent when he saw it.”

“Or maybe (casting director) Georgianne Walken had a soft spot for me and liked what I did, but ultimately I guess it was David Chase’s decision and so I guess they needed a portly fellow in the crew,” Gannascoli laughed.

However his portrayal of Vito came to be, Gannascoli said he is forever grateful to have been afforded such an opportunity to star in what many consider to be the greatest TV show of all time.

(James Gandolfini) was a great guy. He was a regular, blue-collar guy from Jersey who possessed a special kind of talent. He’s really what made the show (…) there were so many talented actors but Jimmy was the quarterback.

Joseph R. GannascoliThe Sopranos actor

He added, “I’m a self-taught chef and a self-taught actor and I went from this little scene in a bakery into this prolific role on the greatest show ever made.

“I constantly just think about how blessed I was to be a part of it.

“I’ll probably never do anything like The Sopranos again, and I’m okay with that.

“It’s like having a great World Series in baseball, you bat close to 400, you win a ring, and then you fall by the wayside and nobody really hears much from you again.

“And I’m okay with that.”

MISSING GANDOLFINI

Twenty-five years on, Gannascoli still acts sparingly but has returned to his first love: cooking.

He now hosts private dinners on Long Island for up to 50 Sopranos superfans at a time, serving up antipasto and pasta while answering his guests’ most burning questions about the show and even reenacting some of its most iconic scenes.

Gannascoli also recently launched his own vodka brand, Rocavaka.

But his time on The Sopranos will forever remain his greatest achievement, calling it the experience that “made his life.”

However, he says he finds it difficult to rewatch the show now, partly because of how emotional it is seeing the late, great James Gandolfini on-screen.

Gandolfini died suddenly from a heart attack while vacationing with his son in Rome, Italy, in June 2013. He was just 51 years old and had recently become a father for the second time.

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Remembering Gandolfini 11 years on, Gannascoli said that while their interactions on set were limited, he will remember the actor as a giant of a man with an even bigger heart.

“I remember (during filming) when I had a restaurant, different actors from the show would come every month and meet fans, hang out, and sign things – it was great,” reflected Gannascoli.

“And I remember one day he comes to me and goes, ‘How come everyone is coming to your restaurant and you’ve never asked me?’

“I was like, ‘Jimmy, you’re so busy. You have such long days, I’m not going to bother you with that.’ But he told me it sounded like fun and he wanted to do it.”

It’s all about the dialogue, that’s what made The Sopranos so special because the dialogue was just brilliant.

Joseph R. GannascoliThe Sopranos actor

Gannascoli continued, “I remember it was a cold and rainy night, he was sick, and one of my friends went to pick him up.

“By the time he arrived, there was a line around the block. And he sat there and signed things and took pictures with everyone.

“He was a great guy. He was a regular, blue-collar guy from Jersey who possessed a special kind of talent.

“He’s really what made the show (…) there were so many talented actors but Jimmy was the quarterback.

“We were all really thankful for him. I know I was.”

A new two-part documentary about the creation of the series, Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos, airs on HBO on September 7.

The series will feature interviews with Chase and various other stars, including Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco, and Michael Imperioli.