The Sopranos (1999), before coming onto television, was being given a film treatment. The creator of the show had many big plans before he had a disagreement with his agency about the concept.
James Gandolfini got to bring Tony Sopranos to life on the small screen and the series made waves with a total of 6 seasons. The series ended in 2007 and David Chase (creator) revealed that he eyed a silver screen heavy hitter to take on the mobster role.
Robert De Niro (Casino) almost played the part, as Chase said in an interview with The New York Times a couple of years ago. De Niro has quite an experience in films revolving around mafias as he played the younger version of Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974) and James Conway in Goodfellas (1990).
David Chase’s Initial Setbacks Making The Sopranos
David Chase did not have a smooth ride transitioning from a larger format to a smaller one. As per Slash Film, the showrunner had to redevelop the whole screenplay and make humongous additions to the story.
During the ‘90s, actors who had a massive reputation on the silver screen, like Robert De Niro, did not make the switch over to television as it didn’t have the charm back then. That became one of the setbacks for him.
The other was that his agency downplayed his imagination and told him The Sopranos did not have a likable concept.
“I was signing with a new agency and they said mob comedies were dead, so I should forget about that. As it turned out, they had missed their mark,” said Chase.
He even talked about how crucial it was to get a proper New Yorker who’s an Italian American to play a real gangster.
David Chase On Robert De Niro Playing Tony Sopranos
The showrunner made a surprising confession in the interview. He said he looked to tap Robert De Niro but didn’t decide on a name for his character. So, did Chase really have James Gandolfini‘s character for him in mind?
“Yeah. I planned to have Robert De Niro as, well he didn’t have a name, and Anne Bancroft as his mother.”
What Chase tried to do in a film, Robert De Niro ended up doing the same with his own version in Analyze This (1999). Directed by Harold Ramis, the film’s premise walked along the lines of The Sopranos’.
Although The New York Times didn’t put up a question concerning De Niro’s film, it must have pinched Chase, big time!
The Sopranos is streaming on HBO’s Max platform.
Source: The New York Times
