The Marvel director I forgot had a cameo in The Sopranos

“The Sopranos” has delivered some great performances throughout its six seasons, making it easy to forget some of the supporting talent who briefly passed in and out of episodes who went on to become huge stars. For a short while, David Chase’s televised mob masterpiece starred “The Wire” star Michael K. Williams, Paul Dano, who would become the Riddler, and even… Lady Gaga (although she may not be a fan of the performance herself). However, one appearance that may stand out the most is that of actor, director, and Marvel Cinematic Universe co-architect, Jon Favreau.

The “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2” director plays an exaggerated version of himself after Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) is invited to film one of Favreau’s films. After participating in rewriting the scene, Favreau becomes interested in Christopher’s lifestyle when he learns of his mob ties and pinches an anecdote for inclusion in one of his scripts, much to Creasy’s anger. Although his stay is brief on the show, Favreau plays a crucial role in adding further complications to Christopher’s struggle with his ties to family and hunger for a better life outside of the mob. For Favreau, it was an experience he relished, appearing on one of the most innovative television shows of all time. As it turns out, he contributed to the show similarly to how his fictional Christopher contributed to the series — except that his contributions came with much less risk of anyone getting beaten up.

It’s safe to say that no one knows Jon Favreau better than Jon Favreau, which is why when it came to sharing the screen with Christopher Moltisanti’s character, he had some suggestions for “The Sopranos” creator David Chase on how he should handle it. the situation. Talk to a fan on Reddit in 2013Favreau recalled his experience, saying, “I was really honored to be invited by David Chase to play myself in The Sopranos. I wanted to make sure that when I portrayed myself I wasn’t playing it ‘cool’ because if the real Jon Favreau met the real Sopranos, he wouldn’t be comfortable at all.” .

The “Elf” director eventually suggested taking a different route and playing things up a bit for laughs. “The original script I received had me playing it as if I were one of the guys. I gave David a note that I wanted to be really uncomfortable and scared, because even though everyone loves the romantic idea of ​​gangsters, if you ever met them in real life… “It can be very annoying.” This comes in Faverau’s fake guise before he rescues Christopher and takes his story with him.

Coincidentally, this wouldn’t be the only time Tony Soprano’s cousin takes on someone who played Tony Stark’s sidekick in the MCU: Christopher also ditched the man who played Trevor Slattery as well.

Before it was Killed in season 6 After being in a car accident at the hands of no one else in The Sopranos (right, toon?), Christopher tried out his own mob horror movie, “Cleaver,” to acting legend Ben Kingsley, who plays Trevor Slattery in the MCU and appeared as himself in the offer. It goes about as well as you’d expect, once again showcasing the show’s great take on comedy in a primarily dark and corrupt world. It was also an excellent turn for Kingsley, who by this point had already had a huge hit with the British crime drama “Sexy Beast,” which reinvented the actor and gave us… One of the best performances of his career. By the end of the episode “Luxury Lounge,” it ends in an awkward confrontation, with Kingsley letting go of what might have been One of the funniest F-bombs in the entire show.

Fortunately, in reality, the Oscar winner’s presence was even more welcoming, according to Ray Abruzzo, who played Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. on the show. Abruzzo praised Kingsley and his time on set during an appearance on the podcast “The Talking Soprano” Hosted by Imperioli and co-star Steve Schirripa. “I remember walking down the hall before we went in, and he was massaging my shoulder.” As far as Abruzzo was concerned, “He was just another actor having fun. I loved those scenes. He was great.”