Michael Imperioli feared he would be fired from ‘Sopranos’ after set incident — until James Gandolfini ‘burst out in hysterical laughter’
Michael Imperioli knows his way around a Mafia story.
The Emmy-winning actor was in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” HBO’s iconic show “The Sopranos,” and now he’s narrating and exec producing the History Channel docuseries, “American Godfathers: The Five Families.”
“I read the book first, and then I was like, ‘If you’re using that as source material, you’re off to a good start,’” Imperioli, 58, told The Post, referring to the bestselling book on which the series is based, “Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires” by Selwyn Raab.
Premiering Sunday, Aug. 11 (8 p.m.), the three-part series covers the rise and fall of New York City’s five Mafia families, including archival images, footage, audio recordings and on-camera interviews with historians, experts, law enforcement, witnesses and former Mafia affiliates.
“The first part I had done research on the mob for was ‘Goodfellas’ … Then, I did research for a movie that never got made where I was going to play [famous mob boss] Lucky Luciano,” said Imperioli, who lives in New York City with his wife, Victoria Chlebowski, and their two sons (plus Victoria’s daughter from a previous relationship).
Because he’s played several iconic Mafia characters on screen, Imperioli, who is also known for “The White Lotus,” said he did once meet a real-life made man.
The person has since passed away, he added. “I won’t say his name … but he was a captain — I don’t remember of which family. I met him at Rao’s when I was with [late ‘Sopranos’ co-star] Tony Sirico.”
Imperioli said the man “offered to show me the correct way to strangle someone with a piano wire. And, I thought, ‘Nah, maybe after dessert.’”
Of course, Imperioli’s best-known Mafia role is his turn as Christopher Moltisanti in “The Sopranos,” which aired on HBO from 1999 to 2007, starring James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano.
Imperioli’s first day on that set — and his first day meeting Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack at age 51 in 2013 — didn’t go smoothly.
His first scene involved Christopher driving Tony. The task was difficult because Imperioli had to drive backwards on the sidewalk while extras were standing around, and he had to simultaneously deliver dialogue, he said.
“And I didn’t know how to drive. I never had a license. I lived in New York City since I was a teenager, so I never got a license,” he said. “But I didn’t tell them that, because I wanted the job … I figured, how hard could it be? It’s TV, they probably tow you …”
He ended up accidentally slamming the car into a tree, “really hard, and really did a lot of damage. The airbags went off and there was smoke,” he recalled.
“I just thought they were gonna get rid of me. People run over, there’s a hush … and then Jim just bursts out in hysterical laughter,” he said, referring to Gandolfini.
Imperioli said Gandolfini’s laughter alleviated his fears of getting fired on the spot.
“I thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be all right.’ [Gandolfini] kind of always liked when the wheels fell off. Like, when things would go awry, and go wrong. He had a really tremendous, goofy sense of humor.”
“[He was a] really good guy,” Imperioli added. “It’s still just heartbreaking that he’s gone. Always will be.”
