Michael Imperioli Feared Being Fired From ‘Sopranos,’ James Gandolfini’s Reaction Reveals

Michael Imperioli knows how to interpret mafia stories.

The Emmy-winning actor starred in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” the iconic HBO series “The Sopranos,” and now serves as the narrator and executive producer of the History Channel docuseries “American Godfathers: The Five Families.”

“I read the book first and I thought, ‘If you use that as source material, you’re on your way,’” Imperioli, 58, told The Post, referring to the bestselling book on which the series is based, “Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires” by Selwyn Raab.

The three-part series premieres Sunday, August 11 (8 p.m. ET) and chronicles the rise and fall of New York City’s five Mafia families. The series features archival footage, film footage, audio recordings and interviews with historians, experts, law enforcement officials, witnesses and former Mafia members.

“The first movie I did research on the Mafia was ‘Goodfellas’… Then I did research for a movie that never got made, where I was supposed to play (famous Mafia boss) Lucky Luciano,” said Imperioli, who lives in New York City with his wife Victoria Chlebowski and their two sons (plus Victoria’s daughter from a previous relationship).

Having played several iconic mafia characters on screen, Imperioli, who is also known for “The White Lotus,” said he once met a real-life mafia boss.

The person has since passed away, he added. “I won’t mention his name … but he was a captain — I don’t remember which family. I met him at Rao’s when I was with (late ‘Sopranos’ co-star) Tony Sirico.”

Imperioli said the man, “Offered to show me the proper way to strangle someone with piano wire. And I thought, ‘No, maybe after dessert.'”

Imperioli’s best-known mafia role is, of course, his role as Christopher Moltisanti in ‘The Sopranos’, which aired on HBO from 1999 to 2007, starring James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano.

Imperioli’s first day on set – and his first day meeting Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack in 2013 at age 51 – did not go smoothly.

His first scene involved Christopher driving Tony. The task was difficult because Imperioli had to drive backwards on the sidewalk with extras standing around, and he had to deliver dialogue at the same time, he said.

“And I couldn’t drive. I never had a driver’s license. I lived in New York City since I was a teenager, so I never got a driver’s license,” he said. “But I didn’t tell them that because I wanted the job… I thought, how hard can it be? It’s TV, they’ll probably tow you…”

He ended up accidentally hitting a tree with the car, “Really hard, and it really did a lot of damage. The airbags went off and there was smoke,” he recalled.

“I just thought they were going to get rid of me. People run up to me, there’s silence… and then Jim bursts out laughing hysterically,” he said, referring to Gandolfini.

According to Imperioli, Gandolfini’s laughter reduced his fear of being fired on the spot.

“I thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be okay.’ (Gandolfini) always liked it when the wheels fell off. When things went wrong and went wrong. He had a really great, silly sense of humor.”

“(He was a) really good guy,” Imperioli added. “It’s still heartbreaking that he’s gone. It always will be.”