‘JAMES WAS SO LOVED’
JOSEPH GANNASCOLI ON HIS LATE CO-STAR AND PLAYING VITO
It’s his streetwise, New York accent you notice first. Someone who knows their way around dirty back streets from Harlem to the Bronx, yet somehow manages to come out shinier than life ever intended them to be.
That’s Joseph Gannascoli, who became a household name in the highly acclaimed gangster drama, The Sopranos, celebrating its 15th anniversary.
He played Vito, a groundbreaking gay mobster with a penchant for murder.
Recalling his memories from the set, Joe is quick to pay tribute to his late co-star James Gandolfini, who captured the world’s imagination playing the show’s protagonist, New Jersey crime boss, Tony Soprano.
“He was so loved,” Joe says, with a tremor in his voice.
“He touched everyone all around the world with his kindness and his generous spirit. He came to my wedding, to my restaurant, he was this incredibly gifted actor with a very humble spirit.”
Before he became a gifted “self-taught” actor, Joe worked as a chef. His family financed his first restaurant in New York.
In a case of art mimicking life, Joe found himself on the wrong side of the tracks, gambling his venue away.
“Yes that was back in 1990,” he says with bracing honesty.
“I gambled $60,000 away. I won’t say I was suicidal at the time, but I thought my life was ruined. By the grace of God I moved to LA to pursue acting with a friend who had encouraged me since our New York days.”
The first few years of his new life were also a hard slog, but eventually the sacrifice paid off.
“It wasn’t the overnight success you read about.
It took 20 years. It took a lot of years of being broke while I was studying acting.”
When fame came with The Sopranos, Joe’s family still weren’t happy.
“But I was,” Joe admits.
“My dad discouraged me. A keen opera lover and jeweller, he mixed with artists and knew if you were a singer, actor, painter or a musician, it was going to be a tough life and he didn’t want that for me,” he explains.
The fact his big break came in a show that centred around the Mafia didn’t go down well either.
“He wasn’t even thrilled when I landed my role in [the show]. He’s a very proud Italian and wasn’t happy to see us portrayed in that gangster light,” he says.
“In my heart of hearts I think my role on The Sopranos did our family proud. I lost my mum when I was very young, but she influenced me greatly and impacted on me. I always felt she was watching over me.”
Of playing Vito, Joe admits the role changed his life. The now-63-year-old had originally been cast in a minor role in the hit series, playing Gino who worked in the bakery, but when the producers
MOBSTERS, MURDERS & MAYHEM
‘JAMES WAS AN INCREDIBLY GIFTED ACTOR WITH A HUMBLE SPIRIT’
began casting for the far more meaty role, Joe saw his chance and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
“I had just read a book about the mob called Murder Machine when I suggested to the writers of The Sopranos that Vito might be gay,” he says.
“As far as I know, it was the only time that The Sopranos’ writers took a suggestion from an actor and ran with it.”
These days, Joe is focusing on his restaurant business and he’s even coming to
Australia to share his love of food, drink and acting on a national tour.
“I chose two very difficult careers,” he says. “Acting and the restaurant business. Thankfully, both worked out.”