Soprano Jamie-Lynn Sigler Tests Her Karma

After playing the daughter of a New Jersey mafioso for eight years, former Soprano Jamie-Lynn Sigler is now leaving Meadow for greener — and creepier — pastures. She'll be playing a teacher with ties to a coven of witches in the Lifetime miniseries The Gathering (Saturday at 9 pm/ET), which concludes its two-night run tonight. TV Guide talked to Sigler about scary movies, unexpected endings and a possible Sopranos flick.

TV Guide: There's some wild and crazy stuff happening in this movie.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler: Yes.

TV Guide: Tell us about your character.
Sigler: I play Maggy Rule, who teaches comparative religion. She becomes somewhat of an accomplice for [Peter Gallagher's] Michael in his search for his [missing] wife.

TV Guide: How was it working with Peter?
Sigler: He's so great. He's such a gentleman, so sweet and such a wonderful actor. It was lovely to meet him and get to know and work with him as well.

TV Guide: Did you do much research about Wicca for the part?
Sigler: Well, originally Maggy was a bit more Wiccan and a little more of a hippyish character, so initially I did do a lot of research for it. And then they sort of changed their minds about the direction they wanted to go with her — they didn't want her to be so involved [in Wicca]. So I ended up doing a lot of research, but I didn't need it much for my character. But I did learn a lot.

TV Guide: What was the most interesting thing you learned?
Sigler: They're very much believers in karma — the what-goes-around-comes-around thing is basically a model that they live by. And they strictly believe that any spell-casting or ritual [done] for personal gain is against Wiccan rules.

TV Guide: Is it scary working on a horror film?
Sigler: That's where the real acting has got to come in, because there is nothing scary about it — it's very technical.

TV Guide: Do you like scary movies?
Sigler: I do. I actually always liked them. As a kid, that would be my choice — I always wanted to rent scary movies, like Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp. I guess I like to be scared and sort of go through that emotional roller coaster while watching a movie.

TV Guide: Favorites?
Sigler: [Laughs] The first Sleepaway Camp. The ending is probably the most shocking ending ever — it turns out the girl that we've come to know as the killer is really a boy. It's a bizarre, bizarre ending, but definitely one that sticks with you, that's for sure.

TV Guide: We gotta ask you about The Sopranos. So what do you think happens after the scene cuts to black?
Sigler: I don't think anything happens. I think that the editing of the last scene was brilliant because we're all in this state of tension — Meadow can't park the car, there's this man in the Members Only jacket staring at Tony, there are the two thugs that walk in. We all thought something incredibly tragic was going to happen to this family. The truth of the matter is they always lived — and they will always live — in this state of tension. They were oblivious to it because they were just going on with their lives, which they have to do. But because of the life Tony leads, he and the people he loves are always going to be threatened like that.

TV Guide: Can you describe your last day on the set?
Sigler: It was overwhelming. I definitely went through an array of emotions. I remember when I shot my last scene and they brought out flowers and cake and champagne, and everybody just stands there and claps for you. I remember just looking around the room at all these faces that I've known for so many years and through so many things and I just kept saying, "Thank you," because that's how I feel — I'm so grateful. Even though I've worked on the show for so many years, I feel like such a rookie because this experience is so isolated and so special and I know that it's going to be very, very difficult for me to have anything like this again. It was amazing to go to a place of work every single day where you did not feel judged at all, you only felt loved. No matter what was happening in your personal life, no matter what you weighed, no matter what this, what that, everybody loved and supported you and you couldn't ask for more.

TV Guide: Is there a possibility of a big-screen Sopranos flick?
Sigler: You know, you can't rule anything out. I don't think it's on our minds right now. But if it did come up and if David [Chase] was writing a movie and asked us all to be a part of it, I can pretty much guarantee — I don't like to speak for anyone else — but I think I can pretty much guarantee that we'll all be on board.

TV Guide: What's next for you?
Sigler: I'm seeing what's out there, but I'm not in a rush. I'm very fortunate to be in a position at 26 years old to be financially stable so I don't feel a need to just do projects to do projects — I want to do projects that mean something to me.

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