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TIL James Gandolfini was going to replace Steve Carrell on 'The Office'
Posted on 8/5/24 at 9:49 am
Posted on 8/5/24 at 9:49 am
quote:
The Office and The Sopranos were two of the most iconic TV shows of the 2000s. Though they were very different in tone, with one a workplace comedy and the other a serious mob drama, there were similarities. Both were led by great ensembles, and both had leads who drew us in and made us uncomfortable in the best ways possible. When Steve Carell left The Office in Season 7, the series was left without a boss. It was then that NBC turned to Gandolfini. The deal may have happened if it wasn't for a desperate HBO intervening.
quote:
Back in 2021, on the Talking Sopranos podcast, hosted by Gandolfini's former co-stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schrippa, an interview with Ricky Gervais turned into a twist about the American version of The Office. Imperioli talked about the fact that NBC tried to get James Gandolfini to replace Steve Carell. Schirripa added to it, saying:
“I think before James Spader and after Carell, they offered Jim — I want to say $4 million — to play him for the season, and HBO paid him $3 million not to do it. That’s a fact. Jim was going to do it because he hadn’t worked and it was a number of years removed from when the show ended."
quote:
Would James Gandolfini Have Been a Good Fit on 'The Office'?
LINK
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Posted on 8/5/24 at 9:54 am to RLDSC FAN
Why would HBO pay him to not do a show when the Sopranos was long over by then?
I don't get it.
That certainly would have been interesting.
I don't get it.
That certainly would have been interesting.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 9:56 am to Fun Bunch
quote:
Why would HBO pay him to not do a show when the Sopranos was long over by then?
Would potentially change his image and affect the image of his Soprano's character
This post was edited on 8/5/24 at 9:57 am
Posted on 8/5/24 at 9:59 am to SG_Geaux
quote:
Would potentially change his image and affect the image of his Soprano's character
That was my thought as well.
Also, HBO loves to reuse actors in other HBO properties. I wouldn't be surprised if they were worried about losing him to NBC.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 10:08 am to RLDSC FAN
If there is one thing I hate more than the mafia it is a liar. I wish the mafia would go out and kill all the liars. Bury them in my yard. And I wouldn't tell the cops a thing. Not that I would be lying per se. But I would just get really quiet, all of a sudden.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 10:09 am to Fun Bunch
It’s called a holding deal. Networks can pay you to keep you on retainer for when another project comes along they can slide you in
This post was edited on 8/5/24 at 10:10 am
Posted on 8/5/24 at 10:37 am to RLDSC FAN
quote:
Would James Gandolfini Have Been a Good Fit on 'The Office'?
Yes. It would have been much more emotionally dramatic though, probably moreso than what Carrell did. The comedy would have still been there, but not as slapstick as Carrell's performance.
Gandolfini would have probably played it like the Kevin Finnerty character he played in the "Join The Club" episode of Sopranos (which I think is the best episode of the entire show).
He would have been a very sweet, lovable loser type, with confidence problems and weight problems, etc., very similar to Ernest Borgnine in "Marty."
Gandolfini absolutely had that in him. From all accounts, he was a very sweet, low maintenence guy who was almost a hippie type, who just happened to play indimidatimg scumbags really well. But he also could have played about anything.
He's one of the great second acts that we missed out in due to his untimely death.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 10:45 am to lsutigersFTW
Yeah, but the Sopranos had been over by like 5 years by this point. Actors act, they keep working on various things after a show ends.
Anyway, wish we had gotten to see this over Robert California
Anyway, wish we had gotten to see this over Robert California
Posted on 8/5/24 at 12:18 pm to Fun Bunch
I’d have loved to see Gandolfini in The Office and I think he had the acting chops to be great but at the same time, seeing him in anything else is distracting bc he IS Tony Soprano. It’s hard to not see Tony Soprano.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 2:11 pm to Fun Bunch
California wasn't the biggest problem with that season....Andy was. He was unbearable
Posted on 8/5/24 at 3:33 pm to BilJ
quote:
California wasn't the biggest problem with that season....Andy was. He was unbearable
100%. And the pool party episode is definitely in the upper echelon of Office episodes based on California's musings alone.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 3:36 pm to Fun Bunch
quote:
Anyway, wish we had gotten to see this over Robert California
I may be in the minority, but I enjoyed Spader.
Its Andy, Nelly, and the Jim/Pam nonsense that hurt the last couple seasons.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 4:09 pm to biglego
Would have been fun for that Italian insurance salesman to make a reappearance with Gandolfini running the office
Posted on 8/5/24 at 6:32 pm to Jack Ruby
quote:
the Kevin Finnerty character he played in the "Join The Club" episode of Sopranos (which I think is the best episode of the entire show).
Posted on 8/5/24 at 9:23 pm to BCLA
And Spader started out so strong. At that first interview when he mind fricked Jim and the interviewers. But overall he just wasn’t as funny as I’d hoped but he was interesting.
Will Ferrell’s character also had some moments but never was as funny as it seemed he should’ve been.
Will Ferrell’s character also had some moments but never was as funny as it seemed he should’ve been.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 11:07 pm to RLDSC FAN
There was only room for one mob boss in Scranton, and his name was Roberto "Bob Vance" Vancetti. He was known to put his enemies... on ice.
Posted on 8/6/24 at 7:33 am to Indefatigable
quote:
Anyway, wish we had gotten to see this over Robert California
I may be in the minority, but I enjoyed Spader.
Its Andy, Nelly, and the Jim/Pam nonsense that hurt the last couple seasons.
Yep. Sitcoms have a shelf-life and The Office had expired. It was pretty bad at the end. Glad Gandolfini didn't do it for whatever reason.
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