James Gandolfini Challenged HBO Exec to Fire Him from ‘The Sopranos’

The menacing gangster Tony Soprano was the key to the success of The Sopranos —and James Gandolfini knew that.

The three-time Emmy winner once played his pivotal role on the series by daring the network to fire him, says former HBO CEO Chris Albrecht. The heated moment came after the actor felt ambushed during an intervention meant to address his substance abuse issues.

“We did an intervention with him in my apartment in New York,” Albrecht recalls in the new Max docuseries Smart Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos. “That was to get him into a rehabilitation center. We had already had a lot of friction at that point and the ruse was that I invited Jimmy so we could talk things over and clear the air.”

Among those in attendance were Gandolfini’s sisters and several of his castmates, Albrecht said, so the star was quick to grasp the situation. “He walked in, saw everyone sitting there and said, ‘Aw, f— this.’ And he walked out,” Albrecht said. “Everyone was saying, ‘Jimmy, Jimmy!’ And he turned to me and said, ‘Fire me,’ and he left.”

Gandolfini ultimately remained with the series until its conclusion, starring in the mafia drama for six seasons from 1999 to 2007. Tony Soprano is still regarded as one of the most influential characters in television history, and Gandolfini’s performance was praised by critics at the time, earning him three Emmy Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Golden Globe Award.

Steven Van Zandt, who played Silvio Dante on the hit HBO drama series, noted that the intervention wasn’t the only time Gandolfini considered leaving the series.

“He probably quit the show every day. Maybe every day,” Van Zandt said in the doc. “Every day we’d go to a bar and have the exact same conversation. We’d get drunk and (he) would say, ‘I’m done. I can’t, I’m not going back.’ And I’d say, ‘Okay, you’ve got a hundred people here counting on you.’ And he’d say, ‘Ah, yeah, yeah, okay.'”

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Van Zandt added that Gandolfini was usually back at work the next day, but that he would also “disappear” for short periods when the pressure of running the series “became too much for him.”

His on-screen wife, Edie Falco, said: “He was incredibly involved in making that character believable, and unless you’re really diligent, you can take your work home with you. And as an actor, that’s not always a good idea.”

The Sopranos Creator David Chase even went so far as to compare Gandolfini to the character he so famously portrayed. “He was a really good guy and really complicated,” Chase said in Smart guy. “You could say, and I’m not sure, maybe there was more Tony there than he wanted to admit. That it was too easy for him.”

Gandolfini died of a heart attack on June 19, 2013 at the age of 51. Last year marked the tenth anniversary of his unexpected death, prompting heartfelt tributes from several of his fellow players.

“Forever grateful for all the work we’ve done together, for all the time we’ve spent in your company, and for all the generosity and kindness,” Michael Imperioli wrote. “I miss you all so much, as do so many others on the planet.”

Smart Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos is available to stream on Max, as are all six seasons of The Sopranos.