TV’S BAD AND SAD MEN
Steve Schirripa brings former co-stars together for Nicky Deuce
Actor, good guy and New York Times bestselling author Steve Schirripa, who played Tony’s eventempered brother-in-law Bobby in the epic family crime drama The Sopranos, is having a laugh these days. Not the least of which is because he’s been working with some, er, wise guys, his fellow fictional goodfellas.
Schirripa, 55, has three very diverse projects launching in May. On May 27 at 8 p.m. on YTV, he appears in Nicky Deuce, a movie based on his book, which also stars four of his former partners in crime: The Sopranos’ James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico and Vincent Curatola. His hilarious and insightful new book, Big Daddy’s Rules: Raising Daughters is Tougher Than I Look, is being published May 7. And starting this past Thursday, he hosts Investigation Discovery’s new series about real revenge stories, Karma’s a Bitch, which was shot around Toronto.
Brooklyn-born Schirripa is the real deal. His father was a “small-time hood” and he grew up in a family of five in a small apartment on welfare with his “mother keeping it all together.” He considers himself a goomba: an Italian neighbourhood guy. They say to write about what you know, so Schirripa used this as the setting for Nicky Deuce. The movie, which was shot around Montreal’s Little Italy, is a modern-day, fishout-of-water story about Nicholas Borelli II (Noah Munck), a sheltered, suburban teen who spends a life-changing summer with his little known Brooklyn “family.” When Nicholas savours his grandma Tutti’s wonderful meatballs, earns the nickname “Nicky Deuce” from his uncle Frankie (Schirripa), falls for a pretty neighbourhood girl ( Degrassi’s Cristine Prosperi) and makes friends with a shady local kid, his eyes are thrown open and his life turns on a dime. The story is full of colourful characters: Gandolfini as Bobby Eggs, Imperioli as The Doctor, Sirico as Charlie Cement and Curatola as Paulie. Schirripa didn’t have to “lean” on his former HBO pals to appear in Nicky Deuce. “This is as close to a Sopranos reunion as you’re going to get,” he said. “The guys knew how passionate I was about this project and, seriously, when I called they fitted it into the schedules. “James was doing a movie in L.A., wearing a full beard, but he flew out for the day. He plays Bobby Eggs and does a hysterical scene. Tony came in for a day. Michael played a German professor in a role like you’ve never seen him in before. Looks nothing like Christopher. Vince was just terrific, playing your classic bad guy. My friends came through, they all stepped up and they’re all terrific in it. So we’ve got a ‘family’ reunion and also Rita Moreno, one of the few people who’ve won an Oscar, Tony, Grammy and an Emmy.” Of what to expect, Schirripa suggests, “There’s a lot of lessons to be learned, like not everything is what it seems. And, Nicky gets caught up a little when his imagination runs away from him. But overall, you’re going to see an entertaining family movie that you can watch with your kids, there’s a lot of gags. And you’re going to see some of your favourite TV characters of all time doing things that you’ve never expected them to do.” Schirripa, who’s been filming various projects in Toronto in the last three years, loves all things Canadian. While he’s a diehard New York Knicks’ fan, his second favourite team is the Raptors. “I love Toronto. I also love Montreal, I’ve performed at the Montreal Comedy Festival, While shooting Nicky Deuce, I had a beautiful apartment in Old Montreal. I enjoyed it and the local food tremendously. And, Montreal’s Little Italy is much bigger than it is in New York now.”
An entertainment director in Vegas before he became an actor, Schirripa also compliments the young Canadian actors and the crew on the shoot.
“I’ve been doing this 20 years and I love Canada, seriously. The crews are great. In Montreal, everyone spoke French, great to hear. As for the actors, Cristine, who plays Nicky’s romantic interest Donna, was fantastic. As were Cassius Crieghtney, who plays Tommy, the local streetwise kid, Jessie Camacho and his real dad, Mark.”
Speaking of kids, Schirripa has two girls, hence the subtitle of his tough-love book. “Listen, I love my daughters, but it isn’t easy. Bria goes to college and Ciara is a high school junior. I’m not saying I’m the greatest father in the world. Of course, I’m not.
“All this book is doing is giving you a comedic look at my advice: you can take it or leave it, but this is how I’m doing it. But so far so good for me. And when it comes to (someone) dating them, I’m a nice guy. Until I’m not.”