The Director Is Amazed You Forgot To Have A Cameo In The Sopranos

“The Sopranos” showcased some incredible performances throughout its six-season run, which makes it ever easier to forget some of the supporting talent that briefly passed in and out of episodes that went on to become huge stars. For a brief period, David Chase’s TV mob masterpiece had appearances from eventual “The Wire” star Michael K. Williams, the Riddler-to-be Paul Dano, and even Lady Gaga (although she may not be a fan of the performance itself). However, one appearance that may stand out more than others is that of actor, director and co-architect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jon Favreau.

The director of “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2” plays an exaggerated version of himself after inviting Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) to film one of Favreau’s films. After singing in a rewritten scene, Favreau becomes interested in Christopher’s lifestyle when he learns about his mob connections and pinches an anecdote to include in one of his scripts, much to Chrissy’s anger. While his stay on the show is short, Favreau plays a vital role in adding more complications to Christopher’s struggle with his ties to family and hunger for a better life outside of the mob. For Favreau, it was an experience he relished, entering one of the most innovative television shows ever made. As it turns out, he even contributed to the show in the same way that Christopher did in his fictional film in the series – except that his contributions came with far less risk that anyone would be whacked.

It’s safe to say that no one knows Jon Favreau better than Jon Favreau, which is why when it came time to share the screen with Christopher Moltisanti’s character, he had a few tips for “The Sopranos” creator David Chase about how he would handle the situation. Talk to a fan on Reddit in 2013Favreau recalled his experience, saying, “I was very honored to be invited by David Chase to play myself on The Sopranos. I wanted to make sure when I pictured myself that I wasn’t playing him too cool ‘ because if the real Jon Favreau met the real Sopranos, he wouldn’t be very comfortable at all.”

The director of “Elf” eventually suggested taking a different route and playing things up a bit for laughs. “The original script I was given had me playing it off as if I was one of the guys. I had given David a note that I wanted to be very uncomfortable and scared, because although everyone like the romantic idea of ​​gangsters, if you ever meet them in real life, it could be extremely unpleasant.” That comes off in Faverau’s fake appearance before he bails on Christopher and takes his story with him.

Coincidentally, this also wouldn’t be the only time that Tony Soprano’s cousin would encounter someone who played a liaison to Tony Stark in the MCU: Christopher was also fired by the man who played Trevor Slattery.

Before being killed in season 6 following a car accident and at the hands of none other than “The Sopranos” (right, Ton’?), Christopher tried to pitch his mob horror film, “Cleaver,” to acting legend Ben Kingsley, who stars as Trevor Slattery in the MCU and appearing as himself on the show. It goes about as well as you’d expect, once again showing the show’s great way with comedy in a mostly dark and corrupt world. It also marked an excellent turnaround for Kingsley, who at this point was coming off the success of British crime drama “Sexy Beast,” and reinvented the actor and gave us one of the best performances of his career. By the end of the episode “Luxury Lounge,” they end up on an awkward encounter, with Kingsley dropping what could have been. one of the funniest F-bombs in the entire show.

Thankfully, in fact, the Oscar winner’s presence was much more welcoming, according to Ray Abruzzo, who played Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. on the show. Abruzzo praised Kingsley and his time on set during an appearance on the podcast “Speaking Sopranos,” hosted by Imperioli and co-star Steve Schirripa. “I remember walking down the hall before we (went) in, and he was massaging my shoulders.” As far as Abruzzo was concerned, “It was another actor having fun. I loved those scenes. It was great.”