Gandolfini, Nivola, & Odom Jr. Interview: Many Saints of Newark
The Many Saints of Newark stars Michael Gandolfini as a young Tony Soprano, taking over the role of the gangster originated by his late father James Gandolfini in the HBO series. The Sopranos prequel movie tells the story of Tony coming under the influence of his mentor Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola). Also tied up with Dickie is Harlod McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr.), an up-and-coming gangster who starts out as an ally and turns into enemy. The Many Saints of Newark will be available in theaters and HBO Max on October 1.
Gandolfini, Nivola, and Odom Jr. sat down with Screen Rant to talk about The Many Saints of Newark, taking on the iconic Sopranos series, and their ideas for future spin-offs.
Screen Rant: Michael, I know you've talked at length about how big of a decision this was to take on the role of Tony Soprano, which you did so wonderfully. Was there a particular moment where it became clear to you that this is the role you wanted to pursue?
Michael Gandolfini: It was the last audition after probably two or three months. It was with David [Chase] and Alan [Taylor] and Doug Aibel, and I think Nicole Lambert, the producer. I had four or five scenes, and I'd done them. I'd been with this character for a couple of months auditioning, and we'd finished - it was kind of done.
I was sitting there, and David or Alan said, "There's this scene that we have in the movie, and we keep taking it out and putting it back in. We just want to hear it out loud." And it was the scene with the guidance counselor, this pre-therapy scene. I'd never seen it before; had never prepared - it was a cold read. And you guys know, cold reads are just the worst, because you have no time.
And I remember just looking at it and being like, "I know exactly how Tony would do this and how he would say things." Just having that confidence on a cold read of just knowing what to do here - I know exactly his triggers and how he's thinking - really gave me the confidence of, "I can do this. I really hope I get it."
Alessandro, Dickie is somewhat of this fabled person in The Sopranos series. Was it more challenging playing someone that has this legendary status, or was it freeing that stories are stories and we don't really know what's true?
Alessandro Nivola: What you just said is pretty much what David said to me when we started, which was, "Don't pay any attention to anything that anybody in the series ever said about him, because they're all liars." And so I felt like I didn't have to be the man that they described, really.
I guess that's because what's the most interesting thing about the character is that he presents one person to the public, to the world, which is somebody who's totally comfortable in his own skin and so well-liked and full of charisma and charm and ease in the world. When in fact, he's slowly and steadily unraveling over the course of the film. To allow both things to exist in one performance was, I think, part of the joy of it.
Leslie, you've talked about how this was such a secretive process when you were auditioning. Since it's Alan Taylor, who has done a little bit of everything, did you have any guesses as to what you were auditioning for at any point?
Leslie Odom Jr.: They had told me that it was probably The Sopranos, you know what I mean? My agents hipped me to the fact that it was most likely The Sopranos, but no script. The characters' names were changed, the scenes were very innocuous. I mean, I had no help building it.
Except for [the fact that] there was something about whenever I would pick up this material to make another tape after they sent notes. I was inspired. Nobody writes like David. I don't know how to describe it, but it was that. I didn't have any information; all I had was words on a page, and somehow when I picked this up and started relating to another actor, I was inspired. So, I just kept walking toward that.
If there were a Many Saints of Newark sequel, what would you like to see?
Michael Gandolfini: Well, I think there's a clear transition after the movie and before the series. There's so much; I'm really interested in Johnny. I feel like his absence is felt so much in this movie, which I think is really effective and good because I think it's what Tony feels. But I'm just interested in what Johnny's take is on his son walking into the mob. Does he like it? Does he not? I've always found that so interesting.
I always thought Livia [Vera Farmiga] is such a big part of Tony. But I almost think that Tony might have more trauma with Johnny because he never talks about Johnny in therapy. He does a little bit, but he doesn't go deep with him. So, I've always been interested in that.
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