Awesome Story About James Gandolfini Getting So Drunk On The Set Of Sopranos He Had To Be Chained To A Tree

Source - “Sometimes it’s important to give people the illusion of being in control,” Tony Soprano once said, even if that means being chained to a tree.

Renewed interest in HBO’s iconic mob series “The Sopranos” has surely engulfed fans with their upcoming prequel film “The Many Saints of Newark” and the series hitting HBO’s streaming service.

Stars of the show are now sharing stories from the set and reminiscing about the late great Tony Soprano himself, James Gandolfini.

Steve Schirripa, who portrayed Bobby Baccalieri, recently spoke about a moment during filming where Gandolfini and Michael Imperioli got so drunk before shooting a scene that they had to be chained to a tree.

“On the break, while they set up the lights, Michael and Jim [Gandolfini] drank a bottle of Wild Turkey,” Schirripa told Insider. “They were so drunk that they had to chain their legs to a tree, because they were afraid they were going to fall off the cliff,” Schirripa added. 

The scene in question was the moment in Season 4, where Tony and Christopher Moltisanti (played by Imperioli) threw the body of Ralphie Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano) off a cliff. 

I couldn't find the clip of them throwing the body off the cliff, but here's Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa telling the story...

(2:15:45 if it doesn't skip)

We had both of those guys on Barstool Breakfast a year ago and they were awesome. The way they talk about James is so goddamn pure. You can tell then genuinely miss him. I don't blame them for getting drunk either. It takes for-EVER to light a shot for a show like Sopranos. Not only are there a million moving pieces, you have to account for variables like weather, time of day etc. And if you're the star of the show...why not, right? Who's going to reprimand Tony Soprano for drinking on the set of his own show. No one. It's not like he was a drunk all the time either, he was simply over-served (by himself). Happens to the best of us. That's all I have for this one. Now here are some of Tony's most intimidating scenes. Enjoy...

.

.

.

.

.