Michael Imperioli got a lesson in creating a mafia hitman while working on ‘The Sopranos’

September 21, 2024

Michael Imperioli Was Offered a Lesson in Working on ‘The Sopranos’

Michael Imperioli Was Offered a Lesson in Working on ‘The Sopranos’

The 58-year-old “Goodfellas” actor rose to fame playing New Jersey gangster Christopher Moltisanti in all six seasons of HBO’s groundbreaking mob drama. He said he got the dramatic offer during a dinner with co-star Tony Sirico, 79, who was a real-life gangster before he turned to acting.

Michael told The Daily Telegraph that a man came to their table at the New York hotspot and said he could show him the “correct way” to strangle a victim using piano wire.

The actor added that he politely declined the offer: “I told him it might be better to come after dessert.”

When asked if he had ever taken the class, he replied, “It remained unfulfilling, but it’s easy to imagine.”

Michael’s mob boss Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini, is seen in the series strangling a “snitch” with wire, while Michael’s character Christopher shoots a series of victims in the series.

The Emmy-winning actor, who is also a guitarist in the indie band Zopa and a novelist, now narrates the three-part Sky documentary ‘American Godfathers: The Five Families’ about the history of the mafia.

Michael, who researched the Mafia for his role in the 1990 gangster classic “Goodfellas,” said his family’s ties to the Mafia are minimal, but he can still identify with gangster stories.

He added: “I don’t have a lot of first-hand experience in my family. But ‘The Godfather’ was, to some extent, a slightly romanticized version of these stories.

“People really felt that Don Corleone – who was a lawbreaker, a criminal, a murderer – had some kind of moral code and honor for this character.”