Steve Schirripa had a very similar fear during his tenure The Soprano family.
The actor talks exclusively to PEOPLE, while collaborating with Freshpet, about how he and others The Sopranos Costars expected to be killed in the mafia television series with almost every episode.
“We were really scared. I always said, you know, you get a script, look ahead to see if you’re in it, go to the back to see if they’re going to kill you,” Schirripa, 67, says.
“And that was a real concern, honestly, for all of us, except for Jim [James Gandolfini]of course, because the show could not continue with anyone but [him].”
(Warning: light spoilers ahead.)
Steve Schirripa 2024.
Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
Michael Imperioli recalls the catastrophic accident on the first day on the set of ‘The Sopranos’ with James Gandolfini
Schirripa played Bobby “Bacal” Baccalieri on the HBO drama and eventually made it to the show’s penultimate episode, killed off in “The Blue Comet.”
The Blue Bloods the actor also talks about what it’s like to be a part of The Sopranos legacy, 26 years after the first premiere. “When you step away from it, you’re like, wow, I can’t believe I was a part of this wonderful, amazing, clever show.”
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He says he originally watched the show when it aired every week and didn’t watch it again until he was working on his The Talking Sopranos podcast with costar Michael Imperioli.
“I went back and watched it and appreciated it a lot more after I retired,” explains Schirripa. “Getting into any TV show is very difficult. Getting into this one is like hitting the lottery twice.”
The Soprano family‘ Drea de Matteo didn’t know her character was going to die until the episode aired
Schirripa teamed up with Freshpet to revisit his The Sopranos days in a clever ad that will remind fans of family time at Satriale’s Pork Store. His dachshund, Willie, served as inspiration for filming the “smart” commercial.
“Willie Boy, who’s been eating Freshpet for the last few years, and they sent me the script even after playing a detective for the last nine years [on Blue Bloods]it was fun to go back to the old days The Sopranos way, and I thought that was very clever, very clever, and [a] really funny ad.”
As for what kind of dog Bobby Bacala would have, Schrripa says, “Why not a dachshund?”
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Source: HIS Education