HOLLYWOOD, CA – APRIL 11: Actor James Gandolfini attends the premiere of ‘Cinema Verite’ at Paramount Theater on the Paramount Studios lot on April 11, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic).
According to his costar, actor James Gandolfini – aka Tony Soprano – nearly replaced Steve Carell onThe Office. That’s according to actor Steve Schirripa, who dropped the bombshell on an episode of his Talking Sopranos podcast.
As he tells it, NBC wanted to hire Gandolfini after Carell’s departure in 2011 – offering him $4 million for the gig. But Schirripa says HBO stepped in and paid Gandolfini $3 million to turn the role down. NBC ended up hiring James Spader instead. Gandolfini would die of a heart attack in 2013.
What would Gandolfini have been like on The Office? Is The Sopranos the best TV show ever?
