The Sopranos’ James Gandolfini Had A Trick For Acting Out Pain On The Show, And I’m Aching Just Hearing About It

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

The Sopranos remains a hot topic a decade and a half after its ending, perhaps thanks to a new generation falling in love with the series after binging with their Max subscription. We also keep getting more behind-the-scenes details about the mob drama, both from the documentary released in 2024 and actors who were on the show giving interviews. Such was the case recently when we learned James Gandolfini’s painful trick for faking an abdominal injury.

Actor Chris Diamantopoulos spoke to People about the episode he shared with Gandolfini, “The Fleshy Part Of The Thigh.” The actor talked about his late co-star‘s neat trick he had for simulating that he had pain in his abdomen, though I still think it was a bit extreme form of method acting:

His character had to have stabbing pains in his abdomen. … I remember him outside on a break, looking for a particular stone. He wanted to find a jagged rock, and he hid it under his hospital gown and had his arm over it so that when it called for the character to be in pain, [Gandolfini] pushed his arm down and the rock dug into his gut, and it gave him a chance to react to it. I thought that was really a practical effect. A really neat thing to see.

James Gandolfini won many awards for HBO with his portrayal of Tony Soprano, and now we know just how deep his commitment to the character went. I guess the actor wanted to make his character’s injury look as legitimate as possible and found a sharp stone to help send it over the top.

More On The Sopranos

The Best Thing About 32 Different Sopranos Characters

Chris Diamantopoulos was only on The Sopranos for one episode but he has some pretty cool memories from the experience he shared. This included a story that actor Tony Sirico accidentally beat him with an actual lead pipe, mistaking it for the rubber one he was supposed to be holding when the camera wasn’t on him. It seems like a lot of actors were in pain during this episode, which I never would’ve known without the actor revealing it.

Little tidbits like these continue to tempt me to binge The Sopranos all over again, which I first considered after a co-worker wrote about their experience checking it out years later. My only hesitation would be watching that divisive finale all over again, as it took me quite a while to get over that the first time I saw it.

Diamantopoulos later returned to HBO for a more sizable role, joining the cast of Silicon Valley, where he played the eccentric investor Russ Hanneman. He’s currently on the maple syrup crime drama The Sticky, which is available to stream with a Prime Video subscription. It’s a great series to watch, especially for those who crave the type of drama shows like The Sopranos delivered during their run.

As previously mentioned, anyone wanting to watch The Sopranos can do so, provided they have Max and a hunger to binge one of television’s greatest shows. CinemaBlend will continue to report on what’s happening in the world of entertainment and, of course, any updates about the beloved HBO series worth sharing with its fans.