“I called up whoever it was…and said…there’s only one man in this business who should come in, whack [James Gandolfini’s Tony], and ride off with [Edie Falco’s Carmela], and I am that man,” Baldwin said. “They were like, ‘Sure, great. We’ll add your name to the list of all the Irish actors who think that they should be on ‘The Sopranos.’”
Turns out Baldwin was one of hundreds that wanted their chance to be a part of “The Sopranos.” Why did he not end up getting cast? Not only did the role Baldwin want to play just not exist, but he also had an unexpected meeting with “Sopranos” creator David Chase that he believes sealed his non-“Sopranos” fate. As Deadline recapped: “[Baldwin] told Imperioli and Schirripa that he once encountered the Sopranos creator in an LA restaurant bathroom. There, on one particularly hot day in Southern California, he was looking to dry off his sweat-drenched suit, while running late for a meeting. ‘I’m holding my shirt up to the mechanical dryer, and the door opens, and….this is my introduction to David Chase,’ Baldwin shared. ‘He goes, ‘Alec Baldwin? What the fuck are you doing, drying your shirt in the bathroom at the Four Seasons restaurant?’ And I think based on that alone, I was never cast on your show.’” Chase is reviving “The Sopranos” for an upcoming prequel movie titled “The Many Saints of Newark,” coming to theaters and HBO Max on September 24. The film casts James Gandolfini’s son, Michael, as a younger version of Tony Soprano. The cast also includes Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga, but not Alec Baldwin. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
