If one were to compare Life on Mars' Detective Ray Carling to The Sopranos' Christopher, one big diff would be the gents' temperament. "[Ray's] center of gravity is a little different," Michael Imperioli says in this video Q&A. "He's a police officer, so he can't let his emotions run rampant," as his Sopranos alter ego did (often to his own detriment).
Watch the video to get much more from Imperiolo, after the jump.
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Michael Imperioli by Eric Liebowitz/ABC
Casting/recasting news is beginning to trickle in as ABC tweaks its rumored-to-be-in-trouble just fine adaptation of the British series Life on Mars.Jason O'Mara is still the lead — and dagnabit, he better remain the lead! — but now Michael Imperioli has joined the cast.The Sopranos' former Christofuh! will fill the role of Det. Ray Carling, a colleague of Sam's who is mysteriously transplanted from the present into 1972.Imperioli's lawman is described as a rule-bending tough guy who, when the chips are down, is handy to have in your corner. He was played by Dean Andrews in the BBC edition. — Matt MitovichRelated:• ABC Entertainment Boss: Life on Mars Is "Fine"• Mega Buzz: "Is ABC's Life on Mars in trouble already?"• Fall TV: Mars Lands on ABC's Official Schedule
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Michael Imperioli, For One More Day
Former TV gangster Michael Imperioli will find some redemption this Sunday, Dec. 9, at 9 pm/ET on ABC, in the Oprah-produced tear-jerker For One More Day.
Imperioli has played a hard-nosed detective (Law & Order), a pervy telephone caller (Girl 6), a gangster wannabe (Goodfellas) and, unforgettably, a mobster junkie (The Sopranos). So who would have guessed that one of his biggest acting challenges would come in an Oprah Winfrey-produced TV-movie that requires him to… throw a baseball?
"I'm not gonna lie, I'm not a good ballplayer, certainly not a natural one," says Imperioli, 41, a Mount Vernon, New York, native who grew up rooting for the Yankees. "I spent some time trying to pick the brain of [Yankees catcher] Jorge Posada and I worked with a trainer, but
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Michael Imperioli and James Gandolfini by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com
Or for those who care to liken my headlines to a high-school newspaper: "Jessica Alba Gets Plow'd." The Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman may be making her first appearance on the Great White Way. According to the New York Post, though she possesses zero/zilch stage experience, Alba is being wooed to star in a spring 2008 revival of David Mamet's Speed the Plow. Alba's prospective role, Karen the secretary, last was inhabited (and not very well) by another Broadway baby, Madonna, back in '88.The Sopranos' James Gandolfini and Michael Imperioli are said to be on the producers' wish list for the two male leads.
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Michael Imperioli by Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
Jack Black has signed on to star in and produce The Lost Adventures of Stone Perlmutter Jr. for Universal Studios. In the mockumentary, he'll play a late-'70s Indiana Jones type... only tubby and a bit potty-mouthed. Ill-fated Soprano Michael Imperioli has been cast as the detective in Peter Jackson's DreamWorks adaptation of the best-seller The Lovely Bones. Stanley Tucci has also come on board as the killer. Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation have announced the release date of the fourth Shrek movie: May 21, 2010. Gosh, that's so far away. If only they'd do something to remind us occasionally as opening day draws nearer. Salma Hayek's new MGM-based production company with a Latin flair, Ventanazul, is pursuing George Lopez to cowrite, produce and star in one of their inaugural projects.
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Michael Imperioli by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com
Emmy winner Michael Imperioli is set to star alongside Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn in the ABC TV-movie Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day, about a despondent former baseball star who is magically granted a 24-hour reunion with his deceased ma.... A&E's Ridley and Tony Scott-produced four-hour adaptation of The Andromeda Strain now counts Ricky Schroder, Eric McCormack, Andre Braugher and Benjamin Bratt among its cast, says Variety.... Charles S. Dutton will direct and star with Elizabeth Peña in Racing for Time, a Lifetime pic inspired by the true story of Noel Chestnut, a prison guard who created a sports program for hard-core female juvies.
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Vince Curatola courtesy hillaryclinton.com
So who did Vince Curatola — aka The Sopranos’ New York mob boss Johnny Sack — have to whack to get his cameo in Hillary Clinton’s spoof of the series' finale (available in our Online Video Guide)? Curatola tells TV Guide he was having dinner with his wife when he got a call from Sopranos director Allen Coulter, telling him that Clinton media guy Jimmy Siegel was doing a video the next morning in a diner near the Clintons’ Chappaqua, New York, home. “I said it sounds good,” Curatola relates, so on Father’s Day, he and his wife headed to the Coach Diner in Mount Kisco. “In walks Bill and Hillary, who run right over and say, ‘Thank you for coming out on a Sunday morning,’” says Curatola. “They were just a lot of fun — and Hillary was very bubbly.” Turns out the former (and maybe future) First Couple are such Sopranos fans that they were able to quote some of Johnny Sack’s more memorable lines. They also had...
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Question: I heard a rumor that Bradley Whitford is the front-runner for the new ADA on Law & Order. Any truth?
Answer: I hear he's too expensive. According to the rumor mill, they're also talking to Michael Imperioli about filling the revamped Waterston slot. I know what you're thinking: "WTF? He's a detective!" Apparently, his character graduated from law school since last we saw him.
That's a wrap! Head on over to the Ask Ausiello Discussion Thread to chat about this week's column. Also check out the latest installment of my Ausiello Report vodcast for tons of Entourage spoilers. And don't forget to send questions/hot tips/Gilmore-swag guesses to ask_ausiello@tvguide.com! — Additional repo
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Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos
About a year ago, I found out that Christopher was going to die. [Sopranos creator] David Chase told me. He told me how it would happen, and I thought it was a great idea. It was very unexpected and revealed a really interesting and twisted side of Tony's character.
People think it was unjust of Tony to do that to Christopher. But I think it was good, because it's easy to forget that these characters have a very vicious and ruthless side to them. People fell in love with these guys, especially with Tony — they see him with the family, and they see him being this loyal boss. But there's also this side that is selfish, greedy and violent. I think it's good that when the sun sets, that's going to be one aspect of how he'll be remembered.
We filmed my death scene in the wintertime. You know what I found interesting
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The clock is ticking for Vic Mackie and Tony Soprano, infamously iconic characters who blur the line between hero and villain and yet earn our empathy as they head to their fates. Their landmark series are back, each in top form yet entirely different in impact.
The Shield (returns Tuesday, April 3, 10 pm/ET on FX) is first-rate pulp fiction, blisteringly intense as it grabs you by the throat. The Sopranos (returns Sunday, April 8, 9 pm/ET on HBO) is more like classic literature, achieving a level of artistry with its aching yet witty realism while delivering violent jolts that sneak up on you like a sucker punch.
A melancholy tone haunts these final episodes of The Sopranos. "Is this it?" Carmela wonders aloud as the story resumes. I'm afraid it is, but if the first two episodes are any indication, what a way to go out.
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