Alec Baldwin lobbied to play the guy who kills Tony Soprano
Alec Baldwin never stopped believing that he would be the guy to axe Tony Soprano.
While joining The Sopranos stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa on their podcast Talking Sopranos, Baldwin revealed he had lobbied to be cast as the guy who kills Tony whenever that moment came.
"I called up whoever it was, I forget, and I said tell them, when it's time to kill Jimmy," he recounted, referring to Tony Soprano actor James Gandolfini, "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], and I am that man."
"I am the guy who needs to blow Jimmy away and take Edie [who portrayed Tony's wife Carmela], who I'm madly in love with, away," he continued. "And 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."
Jim Bennett/Getty Images; Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
Baldwin never did end up guest starring on The Sopranos and Tony's fate remains a mystery, given the infamous cut to black ending of the beloved HBO mafia series. But the two actors went way back, working together on The Juror (1996) and prior to that, starring on Broadway in the 1992 revival of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Baldwin played tough-guy Stanley Kowalski opposite Jessica Lange's Blanche DuBois, while Gandolfini had a minor role as upstairs neighbor and Stanley's pal, Steve.
Baldwin also shared a story of Gandolfini moaning about the early (4 a.m.!) call times for his work on The Sopranos, calling the job a "pain in the ass."
But Baldwin said the real reason he thinks he never got cast on The Sopranos was because of the embarrassing way he first met creator David Chase.
On a hot day in Los Angeles, Baldwin was late to a meeting after confusing the Four Seasons hotel and Four Seasons restaurant, resulting in him sweating through his suit.
"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 said. "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 at the Four Seasons restaurant?' And I think based on that alone, I was never cast on your show. Ever."
Watch the full video above for more.
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