Lin-Manuel Miranda is now a part of the American zeitgeist - not only did he write and star in the acclaimed Broadway smash "Hamilton," but he's the musician behind several of the biggest Disney earworms of the past few years.
But before penning songs like "How Far I'll Go" for "Moana" or "We Don't Talk About Bruno" for "Encanto," Miranda appeared on an episode of the HBO series "The Sopranos."
In a interview with director Judd Apatow for his new book "Sicker in the Head: More Conversations About Life and Comedy," Miranda detailed his experience on the mob drama.
When he was cast as a bellboy in an episode of “The Sopranos” during its sixth season, Miranda was not yet one award away from an EGOT. He was still a struggling actor about to be thrown into a scene with the thespian giant that was James Gandolfini.
Related
The set-up was that crime boss Tony Soprano, played by Gandolfini, and one of his capos, Paulie Gualtieri (Tony Sirico), were hiding in a hotel as the cops were about to find a body the two mobsters had dumped.
As Miranda admits, it was a minor part: “I say, 'I don't know' twice." Nevertheless, while “The Sopranos” made Gandolfini’s name on a wide scale, he was already respected in the acting world, so Miranda was understandably nervous.
Despite his strong acting reputation and the brooding nature of the Tony Soprano character, Miranda said Gandolfini was impressively generous with his time.
"My one story about Gandolfini,” Miranda related to Apatow, “was that he stayed and did his sides even though it was the end of the night. He had no need to do that. He stayed and did the scene for the [scared] Puerto Rican kid in the bellhop outfit."
Despite being the lead on the show, Gandolfini made a point to interact with the cast and crew, shared Miranda. "He was never locked up in this trailer,” Miranda stated, “he was just out, and people would talk to him."
Since Apatow’s book is ostensibly about comedy, Miranda did offer a fun addendum to his Sopranos experience as an example of his inexperience at the time.
"I'm so green you can see me look down at my mark,” said Miranda. “Watch it if you get a chance, because now people are like 'Lin-Manuel's cameo on 'The Sopranos'!' It wasn't a cameo. I wasn't even in the union yet.”
As Insider reported, Gandolfini went on to earn three Emmys for his portrayal of the melancholy mobster before the show wrapped up in 2007. Gandolfini died in 2013, and since then more industry people have told their stories of his generous personality.
Related
Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played his on-screen daughter Meadow Soprano from 1999 to 2007, shared that Gandolfini showed her full support during a tough time in her life.
"There was a time in the maybe fourth or fifth season,” Sigler told Insider, “where I was dealing with my divorce privately, and my diagnosis of MS, and a lot of other stuff that I wasn't talking to people about, and he really stepped up."
Gandolfini proved his fathering tendencies stretched further than his role on the show. "He sent his acting coach, Susan Aston, to work with me,” Sigler recalled, “just to make sure I was taken care of. Little things like that, that he really just stepped up in amazing ways."
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign up and follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram