Ray Liotta Turned Down ‘The Sopranos’ Because He ‘Didn’t Want Another Mafia Thing’

A rumor has long percolated that Ray Liotta turned down the chance to play Tony Soprano on HBO’s Emmy-winning drama “The Sopranos,” but that’s not actually true.

During an interview with The Guardian this week, Liotta revealed that he did pass on “The Sopranos” but that Tony Soprano was not the role series creator David Chase wanted to recruit him for.“No! I don’t know where that story came from,” Liotta said about the rumor he was offered Tony Soprano, famously played by James Gandolfini.

“David [Chase, creator of ‘The Sopranos’] once talked to me about playing Ralphie [eventually played by Joe Pantoliano].

But never Tony.”Why did Liotta pass on joining what would become one of the defining TV dramas in history? “I didn’t want to do another mafia thing, and I was shooting Hannibal.

It just didn’t feel right at the time.”Liotta was already mafia film and television royalty thanks

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