‘Sopranos’ actor talks about Clinton ad

[Brian Damage]

Hillary Clinton unveiled a new ad this week to announce her presidential campaign song and she did it by starring in a spoof of the final scene of “The Sopranos.” Though she recruited a host of extras including husband Bill for the spot, one actor lent some major authenticity to the scene — Vincent Curatola who played “Sopranos” mob boss Johnny Sack.

“It was very off the cuff,” Curatola tells AccessHollywood.com of taking on the role. “We were having dinner when I got the call and I thought it just sounds like fun. I don’t want to sound jaded, but it didn’t sound like anything that was gonna make me nervous, but I felt it would be enjoyable.”

In fact, it was Alan Coulter, a “Sopranos” director who recruited Curatola on behalf of a friend who was shooting the spoof in Westchester, New York, Sunday, June 17.


“(I was told they were) filming something for Hillary Clinton and Bill was gonna be in it and Chelsea’s gonna be in it and it would be a spoof on the final episode the final scene of our show,” Curatola recounts. “I said it sounds good. That’s how it began.”

Curatola claims to be “undeclared at the moment” when it comes to candidates, noting it was the clip’s content that convinced him to do it.

“I decided, you know what, anybody that thinks enough of our work — you gotta look at it, it’s the sincerest form of flattery even if it is a spoof.”

Though it was an early morning shoot, Curatola tells “Access,” his Clinton co-stars were nothing short of cordial. Both of them in fact, proved to be major “Sopranos” fans.

“They were very, very personable,” Curatola recounts. “(Bill) talked to me at length about story lines on ‘The Sopranos’ — different characters, he really seems to be an authentic fan and so is she. She thanked me up and down when she walked in to the set for coming out on a Sunday morning. She really thought it was a noble deed.”

So what did Bill ask about in particular?

“We talked a lot about Jim scenes, Gandolfini scenes and how near the end of the series the pressure was so great for him and how it would have been great if the show had gone another two or three seasons, but most fans tell us that,” Curatola says.

While his character Johnny Sack never made it to the season finale, having passed away from terminal lung cancer in jail in several episodes before, in a way, filming the commercial was almost like being in the original fade-to-black finale.

“Exactly,” Curatola laughs. “We watched (the show finale) it together in Florida at the Seminole Hard Rock — Jim Gandolfini, Tony Sirico, myself, Steven Van Zandt, (Michael) Imperioli. We just kind of like let it wave over us. We’re all trying to figure it out.”

As for what those “Sopranos” castmates think of his role in Clinton’s clip, Curatola says he’s not sure yet.

“I’m going to see them this Saturday,” he says. “We have a small personal appearance to do at the Hilton in Atlantic City. If they haven’t seen it tonight on the news, I’m sure that I’ll explain it all to them when I see it this weekend.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19319147/

[TripperFan]

I just watched the spoof and it's really good. I think it's going to be quite successful for her. Great idea!