<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13182823" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="robert-iler" source="Orion">Robert Iler</keyword> shared a heartwarming memory of the late <keyword id="14457425" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tony-sirico" source="Orion">Tony Sirico</keyword> during a recent podcast episode.</li><li>According to Iler, his "Sopranos" costar offered the young actor his protection on set and off.</li></ul>"<keyword id="11899350" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-sopranos" source="Orion">The Sopranos</keyword>" star Robert Iler <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/sopranos-tony-sirico-robert-iler-b2122909.html">shared a sweet memory</a> about his late costar Tony Sirico during a recent podcast episode. According to Iler, who played Tony Soprano's son AJ on all six seasons of the hit HBO show, he was never worried about being preyed on or bullied on set. "I'm like, you think Tony Sirico was standing around, if there were people eyeing me the wrong way, like 'Oh, Rob looks really cute today,' Tony Sirico is just gonna stand there and not do anything?" Iler <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/sopranos-tony-sirico-robert-iler-b2122909.html">recalled on a recent episode</a> of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pod-yourself-a-gun-a-sopranos-podcast/id1449785792">"Pod Yourself a Gun,"</a> a "Sopranos" rewatch podcast.The actor, who was just 14 when he starred in the critically-acclaimed drama, said that Sirico even pulled him aside one day to let Iler know he was looking out for the young star."Hey, uh, if anyone ever… bothers you, or anybody says anything, you tell Uncle Tony, okay?" Iler recalled Sirico telling him. Sirico's words apparently gave Iler confidence off set as well, especially while dealing with other kids at school. Iler told podcasts hosts Matt Lieb and Vince Mancini that <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/sopranos-tony-sirico-robert-iler-b2122909.html">he remembered thinking</a>, "Oh, this kid thinks he's gonna mouth off to me? I'll have Tony Sirico come down." "No matter how old you are, you see somebody that has like black hair here, and silver hair on the sides — and just the way he always had a handkerchief in his pocket... you go like, this dude will fuck you up," Iler added. Sirico played the charismatic and neurotic gangster Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri on "The Sopranos" for all six seasons. The 79-year-old actor <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/tony-sirico-dead-sopranos-paulie-walnuts-1235312355/">died Friday</a>, and was <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/tony-sirico-death-cause-sopranos-b2119369.html">honored posthumously on social media</a> by numerous costars.

'The Sopranos' star Robert Iler says Tony Sirico protected him on set

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12578366" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jamie-lynn-sigler" source="Orion">Jamie-Lynn Sigler</keyword> said <keyword id="12063299" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="james-gandolfini" source="Orion">James Gandolfini</keyword> would have loved her lasting friendship with <keyword id="13182823" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="robert-iler" source="Orion">Robert Iler</keyword>.</li><li>Sigler and Iler played Tony Soprano's kids Meadow and AJ, respectively, on "<keyword id="11899350" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-sopranos" source="Orion">The Sopranos</keyword>."</li></ul>Jamie-Lynn Sigler thinks her "Sopranos" costar James Gandolfini would "love" her friendship with Robert Iler, who <a href="https://www.insider.com/sopranos-cast-photos-where-are-they-now-2021-9">played AJ on the show</a>. "His main concern for Robert and I was always that we were okay financially, okay emotionally, and that we were happy," Sigler told Insider of Gandolfini, who died in 2013 of a heart attack, during an interview about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bZYqFsU72Y">her new "Sopranos"-inspired Super Bowl ad for Chevrolet</a>"I think he would also really love the fact that [Robert] and I are best friends and we're still as close as we are, because the experience we all went through was really unique," she added.The actress, who played Tony's daughter (and AJ's older sister) Meadow, told Insider that being a part of a show like "The Sopranos"is "lightning in a bottle," and that she and her costars are "all bonded forever." She also said that Gandolfini inspired her in more ways than one during their years working together on the HBO drama, which ran from 1999 to 2007. "Jim taught me how to conduct myself on set. He taught me how to stand up for myself at work," Sigler told Insider. "He taught me a lot about my value and he taught me a lot about asking for help, and that it was okay to do that." <div type="image" title="James Gandolfini and Jamie Lynn Sigler in 2007." height="1310" width="1746" msid="89605228" hostid="261"></div>Sigler previously revealed in an interview for "Woke Up This Morning," an oral history of the series, how <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-tony-the-sopranos-script-hbo-tinderbox-book-2021-10">Gandolfini</a> "stepped up" to help her following her MS diagnosis, including by <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-sopranos-jamie-lynn-sigler-woke-up-this-morning-2021-11">sending his acting coach to work with her</a>. The actress <a href="https://people.com/celebrity/jamie-lynn-discala-husband-split-up/">split from her first husband, AJ DiScala</a>, in 2005, and was <a href="https://people.com/tv/jamie-lynn-sigler-reveals-she-has-multiple-sclerosis/">diagnosed with multiple sclerosis</a> around the same time. But according to Sigler, Gandolfini remained a supportive presence throughout her personal struggles. "He sent his acting coach, Susan Aston, to work with me, just to make sure I was taken care of," Sigler said in "Woke Up This Morning." "Little things like that, that he really just stepped up in amazing ways."

'The Sopranos' star Jamie-Lynn Sigler thinks James Gandolfini would 'love' the fact that she's remained 'best friends' with her on-screen brother Robert Iler

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6358169" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lady-gaga" source="Orion">Lady Gaga</keyword> reflected on her "Sopranos" guest appearance in a podcast with <keyword id="11896019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="entertainment" source="Orion">Entertainment</keyword> Weekly.</li><li>"When I look back on that scene, I can see exactly what I did wrong," the singer said. </li></ul>Lady Gaga reflected on her extremely brief 2001 guest appearance on "<keyword id="11899350" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-sopranos" source="Orion">The Sopranos</keyword>" on a <a href="https://ew.com/tv/lady-gaga-sopranos-scene/">recent podcast</a> with Entertainment Weekly. The "Rain on Me" singer appeared on a season three episode of the hit HBO drama, in which she played "Girl at Swimming Pool #2." During the scene, Gaga (credited as Stefani Germanotta), sits on the bleachers, smokes a cigarette, and laughs as AJ Soprano (Robert Iler) and his friends begin vandalizing the high school's pool area. "When I look back on that scene, I can see exactly what I did wrong in that scene," Gaga <a href="https://ew.com/tv/lady-gaga-sopranos-scene/">said on a recent episode</a> of EW's Awardist podcast. "I didn't know how to listen in a scene," she added. "I was supposed to laugh, and it was sort of like, cue, laugh.... I see it and I go, 'oh, that's not a real laugh.'" <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gJqVzFv0NkQ" frameborder="0"></iframe>According to the singer, she's since "grown a lot as an actor." "I see a very non-specific actor [on "The Sopranos"], and now I see myself as someone who is at least really striving to be specific without thinking about it, and that requires a lot of work ahead of time," the "Born This Way" singer <a href="https://ew.com/tv/lady-gaga-sopranos-scene/">told EW</a>. Following her small role on "The Sopranos," Gaga went on to become a successful musician and actor. She starred on seasons five and six of "American Horror Story," and her role opposite <a href="https://www.insider.com/a-star-is-born-bradley-cooper-sex-scene-lady-gaga-2018-10">Bradley Cooper</a> in 2018's "<a href="https://www.insider.com/lady-gaga-star-is-born-character-different-2018-10">A Star Is Born</a>" earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress. Gaga currently <a href="https://www.insider.com/lady-gaga-italian-accent-method-acting-house-of-gucci-2021-11">stars as Patrizia Reggiani</a> in <a href="https://www.insider.com/ridley-scott-says-gucci-family-criticism-insulting-house-of-gucci-2021-12">Ridley Scott</a>'s crime drama "<a href="https://www.insider.com/lady-gaga-improvised-father-son-house-of-gucci-line-2021-11">House of Gucci</a>."

Lady Gaga looked back on her acting debut in a 2001 episode of 'The Sopranos' and knows 'exactly' where her performance went wrong

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12063299" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="james-gandolfini" source="Orion">James Gandolfini</keyword> once gave his "Sopranos" costar <keyword id="12578366" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jamie-lynn-sigler" source="Orion">Jamie-Lynn Sigler</keyword> a Prada bag for Christmas.</li><li>Sigler told Insider she was a teenager and still living with her parents when she got the gift. </li></ul>Jamie-Lynn Sigler revealed in a new interview with Insider that her <a href="https://www.insider.com/jamie-lynn-sigler-sopranos-super-bowl-ad-james-gandolfini-chevy-2022-2">"Sopranos" costar James Gandolfini</a> once gave her a Prada bag for Christmas. "I think it was the first Christmas after we knew each other," Sigler recalled during an interview about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bZYqFsU72Y">her new "Sopranos"-inspired Super Bowl ad for Chevrolet</a>."I was living at my parents' house. I was 16 or 17, and he sent this beautiful Prada bag for me as a Christmas present." "I just couldn't believe that I was even on his list of people to send presents to," Sigler told Insider, adding that she still has the white velvet designer purse. The "Entourage" star spoke highly of Gandolfini, who died in 2013 of a heart attack. "I think he felt this great responsibility to take care of everybody, and he didn't have to do that and that's not always done," Sigler said. "And I think that's why he has the legacy that he does, and why everybody talks about him the way that they do."Sigler added that she thinks Gandolfini would've been "really proud" of the new Chevy commercial, which was directed by "Sopranos" creator David Chase and also costarred Sigler's on-screen "Sopranos" brother, Robert Iler.<div type="image" title="Jamie-Lynn Sigler and James Gandolfini on &quot;The Sopranos.&quot;" height="1350" width="1800" msid="89603450" hostid="261"></div>Gandolfini played Tony Soprano on the critically-acclaimed HBO drama, which ran from 1999 to 2007. Sigler played his daughter, Meadow. Sigler previously revealed in an interview for "Woke Up This Morning," an oral history of "<keyword id="11899350" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-sopranos" source="Orion">The Sopranos</keyword>," that <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-tony-the-sopranos-script-hbo-tinderbox-book-2021-10">Gandolfini</a> "stepped up" to help her following her MS diagnosis, including by <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-sopranos-jamie-lynn-sigler-woke-up-this-morning-2021-11">sending his acting coach to work with her</a>Other former cast and crew members from "The Sopranos" have spoken out about Gandolfini's generosity as well.<a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-michael-imperioli-sopranos-filming-steve-schirripa-interview-2021-9">Steve Schirripa</a>, who played Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri on the show, previously told Insider that the late actor <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-sopranos-cast-gifts-contract-tinderbox-2021-12">gave checks to his "Sopranos" costars</a> after tense contract negotiations with HBO almost ended the show. And Todd Kessler, a former "Sopranos" writer, revealed in in "Woke Up This Morning" that <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-took-fired-sopranos-writer-to-dinner-2021-11">Gandolfini took him out to dinner after Kessler was fired</a> from the drama.

James Gandolfini once surprised 'Sopranos' costar Jamie-Lynn Sigler with a Prada bag for Christmas when she was 16 — and she still has it

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12578366" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jamie-lynn-sigler" source="Orion">Jamie-Lynn Sigler</keyword> thought of <keyword id="12063299" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="james-gandolfini" source="Orion">James Gandolfini</keyword> while filming a "Sopranos"-inspired Super Bowl ad.</li><li>"Whenever we do anything with 'Sopranos,' your first thought is always Jim," Sigler told People.</li></ul>Jamie-Lynn Sigler opened up about the experience of filming her recent "Sopranos"-themed Chevy commercial, which debuted during Sunday's <keyword id="13161264" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="super-bowl-lvi" source="Orion">Super Bowl LVI</keyword>, in a new <a href="https://people.com/tv/super-bowl-2022-jamie-lynn-sigler-felt-james-gandolfini-presence-recreating-sopranos-opening-credits-chevy-ad/">interview with People</a>.In the ad, which recreates the iconic opening credits sequence of the HBO show, Sigler (who played Tony Soprano's daughter Meadow on the critically-acclaimed drama) drives a Chevy Silverado from Manhattan to New Jersey while "<keyword id="11899350" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-sopranos" source="Orion">The Sopranos</keyword>" theme song, Alabama 3's "Woke Up This Morning," plays.The original opening credits for 'The Sopranos" featured <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-struggles-sopranos-tony-tinderbox-book-hbo-executive-2021-12">James Gandolfini, who starred as Meadow's father Tony</a> on the series, driving a similar route. "Whenever we do anything with 'Sopranos,' your first thought is always Jim," Sigler <a href="https://people.com/tv/super-bowl-2022-jamie-lynn-sigler-felt-james-gandolfini-presence-recreating-sopranos-opening-credits-chevy-ad/">told People</a> of filming the new ad. "His presence was very much felt throughout it all, of course, because anything we ever do having to do with 'Sopranos,' he is there." At the end of the ad, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/sopranos-super-bowl-ad-commercial-1299610/">which was directed by "Sopranos" creator David Chase</a>, Sigler reunites with her "Sopranos" costar Robert Iler, who <a href="https://www.insider.com/sopranos-cast-photos-where-are-they-now-2021-9">played Tony's son</a> (and Meadow's brother) AJ."Robert and I are still best friends. We're so close... What we experienced together was very unique," Sigler told People. "'The Sopranos' was a once-in-a-lifetime thing in many ways. It was 10 years of our lives and we were kids and we grew up on that show, and so this just takes you right back.""We couldn't have asked for a cooler experience," she added. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2bZYqFsU72Y" frameborder="0"></iframe>Gandolfini died in June 2013 at the age of 51 from a heart attack. In the oral history of "The Sopranos," "Woke Up This Morning," Sigler revealed that <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-tony-the-sopranos-script-hbo-tinderbox-book-2021-10">Gandolfini</a> "stepped up" to help her following her MS diagnosis, including by <a href="https://www.insider.com/james-gandolfini-sopranos-jamie-lynn-sigler-woke-up-this-morning-2021-11">sending his acting coach to work with her</a>.The actress <a href="https://people.com/celebrity/jamie-lynn-discala-husband-split-up/">split from her first husband, AJ DiScala</a>, in 2005, and was <a href="https://people.com/tv/jamie-lynn-sigler-reveals-she-has-multiple-sclerosis/">diagnosed with multiple sclerosis</a> around the same time. But according to Sigler, Gandolfini remained a supportive presence throughout her personal struggles. "He sent his acting coach, Susan Aston, to work with me, just to make sure I was taken care of," Sigler said in the book. "Little things like that, that he really just stepped up in amazing ways."

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'The Sopranos' star Robert Iler says Tony Sirico protected him on set

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'The Sopranos' star Jamie-Lynn Sigler thinks James Gandolfini would 'love' the fact that she's remained 'best friends' with her on-screen brother Robert Iler

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Lady Gaga looked back on her acting debut in a 2001 episode of 'The Sopranos' and knows 'exactly' where her performance went wrong

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James Gandolfini once surprised 'Sopranos' costar Jamie-Lynn Sigler with a Prada bag for Christmas when she was 16 — and she still has it

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Jamie-Lynn Sigler says her 'first thought' was of on-screen dad James Gandolfini while filming her 'Sopranos' Super Bowl ad

Libby Torres