‘The Sopranos’: Alec Baldwin Wanted to Play the Guy That Killed Tony
Alec Baldwin really, really wanted to be the guy that whacked mob boss Tony Soprano.
A self-confessed Sopranos superfan, Baldwin joined two of the show’s stars, Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, on their Talking Sopranos podcast to reminisce about the hit HBO series. During the chat, the 30 Rock star revealed that he lobbied to get a part on the show, and not just any part, but a crucial role.
“I called up whoever it was, I forget, and I said tell them, when it’s time to kill Jimmy [James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano], tell them — this was early, before you get to the end — there’s only one man in this business who should come in, whack Jimmy, and ride off with Edie [Falco, who played Tony’s wife Carmela], and I am that man,” Baldwin explained. “I am the guy who needs to blow Jimmy away and take Edie, who I’m madly in love with, away.”
Unfortunately for Baldwin, the team behind the popular mafia series wasn’t that responsive to his suggestion. “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,'” the Saturday Night Live actor joked.
However, according to Baldwin, there might be another reason that he never got a part on The Sopranos, and that is due to an awkward first-time meeting with the show’s creator David Chase. After mixing up the scheduled meeting place of the Four Seasons restaurant with the Four Seasons Hotel, a sweat-soaked Baldwin rushed through the boiling heat of Los Angeles to get to his appointment on time.
“I go into the bathroom of this super chic restaurant, take my jacket off, take my shirt off. I’m mopping the sweat up off my body, and I’m holding my shirt up to the mechanical dryer,” Baldwin recalled. “And the door opens — and it’s David Chase. This is my introduction to David Chase. And he goes, ‘Alec Baldwin? What the f*** are you doing drying your shirt in the bathroom of the Four Season restaurant?’ And based on that alone, I was never cast on your show. Ever.”
Baldwin never did get to be the man that took down Tony Soprano, but, in the end, nobody did, as the show’s controversial cut-to-black final scene left the mob boss’ fate a mystery.
