Why ‘Sopranos’ creator David Chase nearly quit his own doc ‘Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos’

This f–king guy.

The “Sopranos” cast and crew take center stage in the new two-episode documentary “Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos.”

Premiering Saturday, Sept. 7 on HBO (8 p.m.) and helmed by Emmy-winning director Alex Gibney (“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”), the documentary dives into behind-the-scenes details about the making of “The Sopranos” and creator David Chase’s background. Various cast and crew members give interviews on-screen, including Chase, Michael Imperioli, Edie Falco, Drea de Matteo and Lorraine Bracco.

During their first meeting, Gibney, who said he’s a fan of the show, found Chase to be “a fascinating and amazing character,” he told The Post.

The director added, “It occurred to me that there was an interesting movie to be made about… how [the show] got made, and how that’s relevant to how things do or don’t get made today. And, how personal it was to him. This came about because of David’s relationship with his mother. His mommy issues were the driving force behind ‘The Sopranos.’ That was interesting to me.”

As the documentary shows, Chase based Tony’s mom, Livia (Nancy Marchand), off his own mother, with whom he had a difficult relationship.

“He’s been in therapy for a long time, so to some extent, he was willing to go there,” Gibney said, referring to Chase’s willingness to open up.

But, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. As Gibney and Chase sat down for a long interview on a set that was a re-creation of Dr. Melfi’s office in “The Sopranos,” Gibney said that while he was asking Chase personal questions, the “Sopranos” creator paused and said, “‘What am I doing, talking about myself? Who the hell is gonna care about this?’ And, he almost walked [away from the project].”

Gibney added, “But he didn’t. He stayed. I think that he is a very thoughtful guy, and he’s been through a fair amount of self-reflection.”

Nevertheless, when that happened, it was “very uncomfortable,” said Gibney.

“Imagine, we had built this set that cost a lot of money, to re-create Melfi’s set. And that was the set for the motor of the entire film, to do a three-day interview with David Chase on that set. Toward the end of the morning, the first day, he was threatening to walk. So, was that nervous-making for me? Sure!”

However, if Chase really had exited, it wouldn’t have killed the documentary, he said.

“There’s always a way [to continue the project]. But, that would have been awkward if the main character decided not to appear.”

“Wise Guy” also shows archival footage of various interviews with James Gandolfini, before his death of a heart attack at age 51 in 2013.

Former HBO exec Chris Albrecht also talks on-screen about staging an intervention for Gandolfini, who had drinking and drug issues at the time.

“[Gandolfini] is so important to this show, and he’s such an extraordinary actor. And for this role, he gave it such dimension. But also, he had some rather famous difficulties himself. His own personal difficulties,” said Gibney.

“I don’t think we belabored it in the film, but people were aware that these issues have been aired before, and it was okay to talk about them, to some extent,” he added. “Because also, they impacted the show. There were times when Jim [Gandolfini] didn’t show up on set.”

Gibney said the most challenging part of making the doc was finding a way to let the late Gandolfoni “speak for himself.”

“We did scour the archives for good moments from Jim where he’s telling the story his way.”