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Retired Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins brings you the best in mob history with his unique perception of the mafia. In this episode of Gangland Wire, I speak with Nick Annunziata, known for his role as Chicago Outfit member Johnny Roselli in Mafia Spies. We discussed his experience portraying Roselli. Nick relates that part of his preparation was to contact Albert Anastasia’s son, who knew Johnny Roselli. We discuss some JFK assassination theories involving Roselli. Nick shares insights on working on several Sopranos Episodes. He played Eddie Pietro, underboss for Rusty Millio, played by the well-known singer Frankie Valli. In season six, titled Luxury Longue, Nick describes the scene in which Sicilian gunmen murder Rusty Millio and Eddie Pietro, as well as other memorable Soprano events. Nick emphasizes the value of authenticity, camaraderie among cast members, and staying true to his principles in the entertainment industry.
Among other things, Nick Annunziata is a world-class poker player, a certified weapons instructor, a musician, and a screenwriter.
Check out Nick’s music – AnnunziatA- “Los Angeles” on ITunes, Spotify or Amazon
#mafiaspies #mafiahistory #organizedcrime #chicagooutfit #johnnyroselli
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Transcript
[0:00]Hey, welcome all you wiretappers out there back here in the studio of Gangland Wire and I have a really unusual different show for you and I know you’re going to like it. If you watch Mafia Spies that Thomas Meyer I interviewed a couple of weeks ago wrote that book and they created this docuseries about Johnny Roselli being involved with the CIA and trying to kill Castro and it’s a great docu-series. I just finished it myself, I think, this last weekend. Well, you got to watch it. Now, I have the actor, Nick Annuzziata, who played Johnny Roselli. Welcome, Nick. Nice to be here, Gary. Thanks for having me. So, Nick, you know, let’s talk about you playing Johnny Roselli. I just want to compliment you, first of all, and I don’t usually do this, as these guys know.
[0:51]Thank you. I’m like Italian parents, you know, you got to do a lot to impress me. I mean, that’s the truth. You really captured without having, you had no lines and you have really captured the, dangerousness and the coolness and the kind of, you know, suave and deboner, as we say out in the country of Johnny Roselli. You really captured that and got it across the audiences. There’s no doubt about it. So tell us about playing Johnny Roselli. Oh, Johnny Roselli. I’ve heard his name throughout my life in stories. His affiliation as far as the JFK assassination, you hear these things.
[1:37]Albert Anastasia. Everybody has heard of him, obviously, the Listen to You show. Okay. A friend of mine is friends with his son, and he’s still alive. He’s in his 80s. I’m not going to mention names. But I told him I was playing Johnny Roselli in the Mafia Spice series. So he connected me with this individual. So I get on the phone. He goes, hey, I hear you’re playing Johnny Roselli in the show. I said, yeah, it’s wonderful. Tomorrow I’m actually doing the scene where I get the call that JFK was assassinated. He laughed. I go, what’s so funny? He goes, what do you mean get the call? You’re the guy who shot him. I go, what do you mean I shot him? He goes, I was there. He ran right past me. I’m telling you. Johnny Roselli put a bullet in JFK’s head. I was like, oh, my God. I’m hearing it from a guy who said he was actually there. What does he have to gain by lying to me? I’m watching another podcast this week. I run across this guy. Now, this guy has been all throughout the mob folklore, if you will, and conversations because he was part of the Godfather. Gianni Russo. He just did a podcast. I just came across it last week. And he’s saying, JFK, let me tell you right now, it was Johnny Roselli. Johnny Roselli’s the one who put the bullet in JFK’s head. And I’m going, wow, a year apart, these two guys, I don’t know if they even know one another. Do we even know who really did it? There’s, you know, theory.
[2:59]You have all these quote unquote experts. Can we really trust these experts anymore? I mean, look at the climate of the world right now. Everybody’s full of shit. it yeah you know you just basically had to say all right well i personally see two trees there you’re telling me there’s five who do i believe really right so you got to come up with your own assumption i think there is some truth to that my personal opinion only because of someone telling me this that had nothing to gain from it and the same age the age not the same age but the age makes sense yeah um.
[3:39]And it was a little more detail he got into with me. And I was like, wow. So the next day I go on set and I go to the director and tell him, I said, you’re never going to believe who I was talking to yesterday. And they told me Johnny Roselli killed JFK. He was one of the shooters. There was like 13 shooters or something. It was not just one guy. And I’m like, whoa. He’s like, yeah, we found him. I think you said he was about 80 years old. So he would have been about 25 to 30 at the time. So he would have been. And he was there. Yeah. I said this to Tom and Tom’s like, yeah, we kind of heard things like that, too. But we don’t want to get too into the conspiracy aspect of it. I said, well, there’s no actual hard proof who did who did it still. I don’t believe. Right. Yeah. I mean, not there is it. So it’s basically I guess if you get enough people telling the same story, then that becomes the truth. Right.
[4:37]
Portraying Complex Characters
[4:33]Agreed upon set of facts. They could be a lie. But if we all agree on it, that’s history. Right to play this guy who happens to be doing nefarious things to make a living and also be charming at the same time was uh interesting it’s my wife who doesn’t give out compliments we finished watching the show this week and she said to me after the last episode she said you know something you were really likable your character in spite of what he does he’s likable almost it’s the same thing like james gandolfini as tony sopretto in spite of his menacing and violent ways to make a living you like the guy you’re cheering him on because you find that he has a there’s almost like a just quality like he’s doing it for the better good even though he’s a bad guy david chase always reminded people you know with the violence these are not good people.
[5:27]But they’re still likable i mean there’s a lot of actors unfortunately who don’t play these characters well and they play them very two-dimensional and they play like and i think i was lucky because of just who i am gen you know my general makeup i don’t have to play certain elements of myself the physicality takes care of it and there are a lot of people who play into to that a little too much and it looks a little farcical i to me i i think when you’re playing a non-fictional character and you’re playing with that world you it’s it’s not over the top unless it’s supposed to be a comedy or a satire kind of thing i these guys are very subtle they’re family people first and foremost there’s always a motive why they do things it’s not like they’re all.
[6:16]Sociopaths i mean there’s definitely a tinge of that and blended with narcissism of course But… They’re doing it to provide for the family. That’s the old way, right? They would immigrate here. They do what they had to do so they can give their children a better life. And I think those lines at times get a little crossed and people forget that.
[6:39]And I remember being on The Sopranos. People would say, oh, that episode was kind of boring. Why?
[6:45]Well, no one got killed. I’m like, that’s not what these guys do all day long. They don’t just wake up and go, hey, who’s on the hit list today? You know it’s not how it works it’s about providing and making money but i found the most endearing with being on the sopranos was the family aspect the dynamic of the family i found it more endearing because i felt like i was peaking in on sunday dinners at my my nanny and pop-up’s house you know being around my family every every sunday dinner you know two o’clock you know the house it was standing room only in the dining room but i always sat next to my grandpa i’m I’m named after my grandpa. I didn’t even understand that world.
[7:24]And I didn’t even understand I was probably around it most of my life without any knowledge of it. It probably helped you quite a little bit in seeing that people, and we all have this quality, men especially, have this quality of you want to protect your family. You want to protect the people around you. You want to provide for them. And you go out at home and around your friends, your one person. I used to be like this. You go over in the city and you’re another person because you got to earn a living and you got to do what needs to be done. And so you probably internalized a lot of that growing up, which you could then translate that without having to act like a tough guy. You just have it innately in you, I would bet. Yeah, it’s well, I live in Los Angeles now. So growing up on the East Coast and then moving to Los Angeles, there was a big shift. I almost felt like for the first truthfully, for the first 10 years living in California, I felt.
[8:17]Like a fish out of water. I felt like I didn’t have an identity because being in New York, the neighborhood I grew up in, people knew my family. They knew my grandfather. I mean, I made my communion. Actually, my parents got married in the church.
[8:33]My grandparents, that’s their parish. Then I made my communion there. I got to tell you a funny story about my communion. So I was born in Frankfurt, Germany. My dad was drafted and his brother were drafted during vietnam you can’t take both siblings to a war zone so my dad went to germany and my uncle went to be so i’m born in frankfurt come to the states two years later when i was two i come back to the united states my parents get divorced that’s like an infamy that’s not something you do in italian especially in the late 60s 1969 1970 you don’t get divorced that that’s like no no but my mother god bless her soul 100 pounds soaking wet five foot nothing my father 6’2″, 240 pounds, my mother’s the strongest person I think I’ve ever come across in my life. You want to talk about a primal instinct to protect somebody, meaning me. My mother never spoke bad about my father, but yet when I would have visits with my dad, he would throw under the bus all the time. And then my mother said, listen, what happened between me and your dad is between us, he’s your father, respect your father. I never knew anything, never knew how they met. And then I heard stories, I’m like, all I can tell you is this, My mother’s fault was walking my mother down the aisle. I’m getting somewhere with this story. Don’t worry.
[9:48]And whispers in my mother’s ear, you know, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. All right. So fast forward, seven years old. I make my communion. I am so nervous, Gary, because now I have my stepfather there who I considered my dad, who I can, you know, who he’s the one who just passed away last year. My biological father, that whole family, and then some. Now you’re usually only allowed to have like you know five to ten people from each kid’s family in the church right, This is my grandfather’s parish, mind you. My grandfather’s neighborhood.
[10:20]
Childhood Communion Mishaps
[10:20]Half the freaking church was there for me. I had no idea. I am so nervous because that’s like, oh, my God, I’m put in a situation. I don’t know who to show loyalties to. And this is at seven years old. I didn’t even understand this dynamic. I’m on the altar. Priest is coming to take my catechism book. I fainted on the altar, Gary. Oh, no. Oh, no. The next thing I know, I wake up. I’m outside. Side my dad’s got smelling salts under my my nose and i’m like what the heck happened i hear the story when i fainted my dad my stepdad it hops over the pew now the priest has got the microphone on right he’s he’s down he’s like jesus christ these stiffers are bored the whole church is here.
[11:05]So these are the stories i hear from that but growing up so like you said picking up subtleties around these guys with no neck you know big freaking sausage fingers i grew up around that my whole life i didn’t even understand what these people were to me they were just good people working on the sopranos now yeah you play you played a uh was it the underboss yeah for frankie valley with frankie valley played uh i can’t remember rusty millio rusty millio and and you You were the underboss of Eddie Prieto. And so how did you, I mean, you went to, you have kind of a good story about getting that role. So why don’t you start talking about that? Oh, yeah. So I was in New York recording an album. My hair was so long. It was like Jim Morrison from The Doors in the 60s. And I’m in the recording studio. And my agent calls. I was in New York at the time. And he says, hey, I got an audition for you for The Sopranos. Oh, my God, that’s wonderful. Great. You want to send me the material? Said oh no don’t get too crazy it’s just one line like really one line all right what is it because i thought monks made it they’re talking about grappa right, I’m like, all right, I got it. They go, no, no, no, no, there’s more. I go, what do you mean there’s more? They go, your name’s Eddie Petro. You’re an underboss. I’m like, wait a second. If it’s just one line, why do I have all this backstory already, right? So I’m like, okay. So the next day I go in. I slick my hair back in a ponytail. I’m wearing like a shirt out of Goodfellas.
[12:33]And there’s these Guido kind of guys from like the Jersey Shore show sitting there. Like with the ripped muscles and the T-shirts and all this stuff. So I walk in and they’re like, they thought I was like part of the show already. You know, like, who’s this guy walking in? So this producer comes out and she says, hey, guys, sorry, we were running late. Who’s next? And these tough guys. Well, you go, you know, I said, well, you figure it out. I’ll go because I wanted to get back to the recording studio. And I go in, I go, hey, how you doing? Nick Annunziata, Eddie Pichot. I thought Monk’s made it. What do you want me to act? It’s a fucking throwaway line. And I walked out. I just left.
[13:08]A couple hours later I get a phone call from an agent I go well they want you at Silver Cup tomorrow okay great no no no hold on you got four pages of dialogue now whoa so now they were very close to the vest.
[13:21]That show they didn’t want their storylines out you know people having auditions saying you know hey look i gotta audition for sopranos so i go in i see all these guys that are getting you know for other parts there and i’m like i’ve seen these guys in mob movies like goodfellas and vinnie bella and try to think who else was there that i can i can’t think of yeah vinnie bella was the one that just keeps coming to my head but this woman comes out and she’s talking i hear her talking to one of the guys that was in the room with me the day before and i see her backside on and all i hear is what do you mean you don’t know who frankie valley is what’s the matter with you what kind of an italian are you and i’m going frankie valley what the hell is this having to do with anything yeah i’m really excited yeah so now so she comes finally comes to me and she’s like yeah you’re frankie valley’s on the bus i’m like oh my god i’m like you like i’m a little excited more for frankie valley than the sopranos right so i wind up going in i do my thing frank’s there everybody in the that’s big on the show is in that room i do my audition they’re like hey nick you know so tell us i go yeah call my agent and i walked out i just walked out i’m like i am not gonna blow this i want them wanting more so i just left yeah i go back to the recording studio i get a phone call i see oh agent new york all right tell me something good they go all right you booked it and i was like whoa you know wait i lost there you go yeah i was like whoa frankie Frankie Valli, that had to be a dream come true for you. Oh, my God.
[14:45]It was like checking off two things on my bucket list. Like, I got on the Sopranos, and I’m meeting a legend of music that I grew up listening, because my dad always had Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on. You know, I love, you know, Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You. Every time I hear that song, I think of a scene from The Deer Hunter. It’s just like, it was like, this is not real life, what’s happening to me. It was so surreal. To this day, I mean, I respect when I meet actors that I really admire their work, I’m not…
[15:15]What they call i’m not a star fucker i’m like i’m like oh like a dumb yeah you know yeah but i’m like you know what i treat them normal hey i really dig your stuff and i think because i have this ease about myself um and i’m not i don’t want anything from you i just want to say hey i acknowledge your your your work and i just want to say thank you you know some of them are very very very uh sincere and grateful i’ve met a couple where i wish i had never met and it’s unfortunate because you’re in a position where you should just be grateful where you are and without people saying they like your work you wouldn’t be there yeah so tell us tell us about that scene where you and Frankie Valli get killed by the Sicilians oh wow they’ve imported in Johnny Sack has got Tony Soprano to import some Sicilians in or zips as they used to call them yeah to kill you guys so yeah that that was pretty dynamic scene now tell us about that how did that go down how do they do that it looked real okay so it’s funny i i’ve been most of the time when i work a lot of directors look that come up to me when i first started hearing this i thought it was a negative thing they would say hey nick you’re a one take kind of guy aren’t you and i thought i took it as a what do you think i don’t have range you know i looked at it and they’re They’re like, you nail it. So we got to the set.
[16:39]We know it’s our last episode. And this is what I mean about how gracious and how wonderful everybody on that show was.
[16:47]A lot of people that weren’t even filming, the late Frank Vincent, Tony Chirico, they came to the set in Brooklyn.
[16:55]
Filming Intense Scenes in One Take
[16:56]To wish us well and thank you for being part of the show i mean how gracious is that to come on their day off to brooklyn on a location to watch us finish our run on the show but the funny thing was we i get there and they have 11 pieces of car glass because they thought they were going to have to do this yeah scene so many times so in my head i’m going man that’s a waste of money, they’re not going to use all that glass.
[17:29]We do it doing the scene boom one shot I’m a firearms instructor for a long time I grew up around weapons my whole life a lot of people anticipate a shot right, a lot of you know I don’t know what your background is I mean were you in law enforcement yeah a cop yeah okay so you know a lot of people anticipate recoil right oh yeah that’s that’s what throws you off at the range as you, jerk a little bit just before it goes so yeah yeah so i don’t anticipate a shot i never anticipate so when you see my reaction when you see the shot it’s it was spot one piece of glass one take gary one take one take wonder i tell you what nothing’s better than one take i know that And Frankie Valli pulled it off too, pretty well. Oh my God. We had such fun. We used to sometimes.
[18:26]Because we both lived in California. We both would fly in for the show because it was filmed on location in the East Coast. But there are times in New York where we’d have an early call and we’d meet for breakfast in the morning in the city at the hotel like where he was staying at. And then we’d get picked up by the crew van to take us on location, which was great. He was so generous. Still to this day, he actually called me like a month ago and said that Nick Vallelonga is rewriting Jersey Boys, the movie. To redo it um he wanted he wanted the original the one that clint eastwood directed he he wasn’t a, huge fan of he wanted it a different way he wanted his story told differently and i guess you know the artist you know subjective it’s everyone everyone has their an idea but it’s his life so i can understand him wanting to do it his way and so they’re rewriting it and he called me says Nick, I’m rewriting it with Nick, who won the Oscar for Green Book, the true story of Tony Vallelonga, who drove Dr.
[19:33]Shirley, the black musician, through the South during the 60s. Great movie. But Tony Lip, Tony Vallelonga, the irony of that, did you see the tie-ins? He was actually on The Sopranos, which was really interesting. But Frankie called me and said he wants me to be part of the show. Yeah. So he’s always thinking of me. He actually got me an audition after they won the Tony for Jersey Boys.
[20:05]I mean, like literally the next day he called me up. I’m like congratulating Texan. I’m like, oh, that’s so awesome. Right. Because he said to me, he goes, you know what, Nick? You’re Tommy DeVito. You are him. And I didn’t know how to take that because I really didn’t know much about these guys other than the music. I didn’t know their personal lives. But I guess Tommy is similar to Johnny Roselli, very, very outspoken guy, fun, charming, but a little dangerous. So I got the audition for that to do it on stage. I was offered the understudy. I turned it down, you know, respectfully. They said, why? I said, listen, you know where I come from? I said, if I tell someone I’m in Jersey Boys on Broadway and the guy who just won the Tony is not sick, I’m never going to get to perform. Yeah. You understand the people I know. This guy is going to fall down the stairs. I’m telling you that kind of element you can’t learn in an acting class. I mean, I just just the subtleties, the funny stuff, I guess, is what makes it. I’m real. That’s it. I just I just I internalize it. I don’t think about method. I went to school. I had wonderful teachers, but a very short time of school. I was already doing stage work. And I said, I need to know what these people are talking about. I feel so out of my element. I wound up going to HB Studios in the village. And I wound up, my teacher I auditioned for was Ann Jackson, Eli Wallach’s wife.
[21:31]Another big Broadway person had no idea who these people were so I didn’t get my own way like oh my god I’m with so-and-so you know that never entered my my system and then I kept on hearing about this woman Uta Hagen I’m like who’s Uta Hagen my fellow student classmates were like you’re in her school stupid I’m like where do I know I’m 25 years old or I have no idea but I was raw Gary I was raw all and i was real as can be so i wasn’t confined to rules and that’s how i am with music too i’m not confined to rules i don’t read music i know how to play it and i know what i want to i hear it in my head and i sound it out and my friend brian who i write music with for the last 20 something years he’s like i never thought of that i said yeah because you guys are schooled i don’t know the rules let’s just play it and see how it sounds it’s either there’s no right or wrong it’s either good or bad i mean that’s that’s how i and that’s how i view acting as well, there’s no right or wrong it’s good and bad when people ask me what’s my method what’s what’s your what’s styled i’m like i don’t even think about that i don’t i show up and my imagination.
[22:47]Is so vivid and i have a lot to pull from because i’ve lived my life i’ve been around some really, character type people in my life you know so I have a lot to pull from and people ask me they go what’s your favorite kind of class I said you know what life I observe people I watch people.
[23:06]You know and that helped me yeah playing johnny roselli now you you really like i said before i think you exuded this charm but yet dangerousness and you said you you know a lot about guns so i thought when johnny roselli handled a gun i thought damn he does that pretty smooth where everybody you know a lot of people you stick a gun in their hand and they you can tell that they’re they get they get tense up just a little bit you’re pretty smooth with that had oh when i when i was when i was at the uh when i was holding the m1s and yeah yeah it’s even when i was on set people they’re like oh my god this because what what do you know this from handling firearms all is an extension of your hand right so if you make it an object it’s going to be an object and it’s going to look awkward but i i understand the functions of it i know what it It does. It’s a tool. I don’t look at it any other way than it’s a tool. It’s funny after Mafia Spies. I just I did two other projects just recently that coming. What is coming out at the end of September? I played a colonel in World War Two. Really? Yeah. So it’s called 24 Hours to D-Day. And I star opposite Eric Roberts. Yeah. Yeah. So I don’t know. You guys probably know who he is, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
[24:26]Julia brother yeah connection to g again you talk about making those connections you get your connection to julia there there you go but i didn’t bring any of that up he was so fun to work with um i mean the guy’s a legend he’s, Yeah. He’s a lot of stuff. Oh my, more than any other actor, I think. Yeah. Um, but the funny thing on that show, on that movie, I probably would have worked three to five days on that shoot. I had to do everything in one day. We had, we did all his scenes in one day and I’m in every scene with him. That was an experience I never had in my entire career. And I thought that, wow, that was kind of interesting. You know, good thing you’re a one take wonder. Yeah, there you go.
[25:10]They knew they got their money’s worth with me like all right we gotta because i originally went into to audition for another part and then the casting the casting person reached out to me and said listen we want to offer you another role and i said i thought i was being downgraded and i’m like uh okay what is it they go no no you’re gonna be opposite to the movie star and i said well who is it they’ll we can’t tell you i said what do you mean you can’t tell me you’re asking me if i want to do it you’re not going to tell me who it is so they tell me i’m like i’m in sure so but they go here’s the catch you’re doing all your work in one day so that to me at first most people go oh that stinks because they’re looking at the financial aspect of it i looked at it as wow they trust me enough to know that i can actually do that all in one day yeah so that that made me feel good and then i did an action movie right after that in the same week so i went from 1944 to 2024 and I’m going back to gun stuff, you know, but, but Johnny was, I didn’t prepare for that in the, in the, in the traditional sense. I didn’t read the book. I did not want to have a fixed idea of how the author portrayed him in the book. I wanted to take what I had, the knowledge I had from knowing people in that world and.
[26:29]And bring that character to life, but still maintain, you know, his charm, his danger, without being unlikable. And at the end, like I said, my wife never gives a compliment. She says, you pulled it off. You were likable. Yeah, you did. You did. You really did.
[26:47]And also came across, you were patriotic in a way, because that’s what was interesting about that story is how patriotic Johnny Roselli became. Actually, they say that Sam Giancana called him some kind of a name about being patriotic, and you really pulled that off, too. Your friendliness with your CIA handlers and those Cubans. Oh, Bill Harvey. All without saying a word. I mean, you, I tell you, it was a heck of a story.
[27:15]
Silent Performances and Cinematic Appeal
[27:15]Thanks. Yeah, that’s what I tell people. I said, look, this was an exercise for me in a way you don’t even need to have the volume on. You can watch those scenes and you know what’s happening yeah i agree it’s a hearken back to, you know charlie chaplin buster keaton the silent era movies right and it’s very it is shot very cinematic so it’s wonderful you know i had a great pleasure last week we were in new york doing press for it and i got to meet bill boggs you know i grew up as a kid watching him he was all over with the television when uh tom the director said hey we’re gonna go to this restaurant, with me you and bill let’s go i’m like oh my god really he goes and then i hear bill in the background is that johnny roselli tell him he was awesome i was like oh my god that’s so great i’m like yeah he loved your character he’s like that’s so nice to hear that you know and i’m genuinely like a little kid it’s like wow you like me.
[28:16]Because it is It’s so much fun to do it And then to see people’s response to it Is fun And I guess sometimes You never want it to end, what does Picasso say? You know, your job as an artist is to become great and give it away. Yeah. So if I’m fortunate enough to keep working and keep a roof over my head. Yeah. That’s, that’s, that’s, you know, that’s, that’s all I, I want. I’m not a very demanding guy.
[28:47]As you know, that entertainment business is a tough, tough business.
[28:55]
Navigating the Entertainment Industry
[28:51]I’m just in it a small way. And it’s like, man, this is hard. It’s very hard. hard the good thing is all the years that i’ve been in it now i’ve i understand how to navigate it better oh yeah in the beginning you think oh you did the work the phone’s gonna ring off the hook right that’s a bunch of nonsense and i like you can see i’m a straight up guy just tell you how it is i don’t know how to i didn’t i didn’t at the time i didn’t know how to navigate that and still keep my integrity because if i’m out with you and say you’re a producer at time this is when i was in my early 30s and i’m on a show at the time because i did two soaps as well i was on two soaps i was on days of our lives for a combined two years two different characters yeah and then i was on general hospital for two years straight i was on television i’d be out and i’d be on tv at the same time right and people would and i would think that uh some acknowledgement maybe i don’t know like get me more work it did and i didn’t understand you have to invest in yourself you have to promote so this i all those years of doing all this i figured it out that works for me where i don’t feel like i’m compromising my my integrity because i don’t i don’t want to put myself in a situation where i fence offend somebody by me just being myself.
[30:12]But after a while you get over the fact that hey look this is this is something i read recently And it really resonated with me. And it said, stop trying to be liked by everybody. You don’t even like everybody. So, you know, and it really like, man, at my age that I have to learn that lesson. But it really it’s those one liners. It’s those things that the light bulb goes off where you finally get it. You understand it, but it doesn’t internalize until when it’s ready. Yeah. It worked for you to get in that soprano’s role. old it seems to me like yeah you said it’s all right why said it worked for you getting that soprano soprano’s role didn’t it yeah and it wasn’t so that character wasn’t about the dialogue it was about the essence of the sky because i’m in a room of characters who are legendary so i can’t get swallowed up on the screen if i can’t have if i don’t have a presence right yeah so i have to be able to hold my own. I got some wonderful advice from an actor who passed away. His name was Joe Santos. He was a character actor. He’d been in tons of movies and television. I think he was on the Hill Street Blues for a long time. One of those cop shows.
[31:28]Just a wonderful actor. But I, when I knew I was going to work with him, see, that’s what I’m saying. I got so lucky to work with such people that I grew up watching. And I’m like, I’m sitting right next to the guy. And he’s talking to me like a regular guy. Yeah. So it was wonderful. I was very spoiled in that fact. I met a couple of movie stars, I will tell you, that are huge, now huge, that are so full of shit. And so self-serving. Yeah.
[32:00]And envious even though they’re where they’re at are threatened by people because and meanwhile these people have i mean they’re worth over 100 billion dollars and yet you’re still worried that you’re not going to eat really i’m one of these guys guy look if i’m at that level i send the elevator down i’m a big fan of success i love to see people succeed i genuinely am happy when i I see people accomplish something. I’m really clapping for you. I really am. I do not have any jealousy. What I do have is if I see you doing it and I know you and you’re doing well, I’m very happy for you. But it also inspires me because I’m like, if you can do it, I can do it. This is how gracious people are on that show and how wonderful they were. And it was like a family from everybody, from the craft services to James Gandolfini and everybody in the middle. People were very, it was a family. looked out for one another and i remember guys like the late frank vincent tony shiriko these guys came to the set on our last episode wish us well and thank you for being part of the show taking pictures all that nonsense we found out we knew that was going to be our last scene on the show they call it they’re wrapping our characters when we’re done right we shot that in brooklyn and i’ll never forget so we get to the set and they have like 11 pieces of glass for the car window where the bullet goes and hits me first. And I’m thinking to myself, what a waste of money.
[33:27]They’re not going to use all those pieces of glass. We did it in one take, like I said earlier, in regards to, you know, I don’t anticipate the shot. And we got it in one shot. It was wonderful. One shot, yeah. I’ve watched that. I have to think about, like, you didn’t anticipate the shot, but you know, you and Frankie Valli both know then all of a sudden, the shit’s going to hit the fan if you will, the glass is going to be crashing and there’s going to be sounds going off and guns are going to appear which I don’t know, you guys did a heck of a job I can’t even imagine what that would have been like. Yeah, well that glass actually did, I mean there was a charge on it like to pop the glass right?
[34:08]
Handling Firearms on Set
[34:09]So it was behind me so nothing went towards my face Which was great And it’s sugar glass Yeah So it doesn’t cut you But I’m sure I mean if it hits you in the eye It’s not a good feeling But We were able to do it Without any injury One take.
[34:28]You know maybe i should have done it a few times i got some overtime i don’t know really yeah you and frankie you and frankie valley had kind of a bonding experience you used to you talked about seeing him out in las vegas after that and having coffee with him anything you guys are buds now aren’t you yeah we look pretty good for two dead guys right you know.
[34:47]Now i have to say you said you had breakfast with him many times before you went to the set now Now, did you maintain your boss and underboss characters? Did you stay in character off set? You know, actually, we didn’t. We would talk, believe it or not, we would talk music. Yeah. And he would tell me stories. And he would tell me even stories about the four seasons and when they were coming up. I’m not Jewish, but he’s a mensch. You know, he’s a good guy, you know? He’s a real paisan he’s a you know and and he lives he lives literally like 10 minutes from me like we live we live relatively close when i was in new york last week when i was in east hampton doing the the mafia spies press thing uh he was in westbury doing a show it would have been so good to see each other again on the east coast i would have loved that but he’s so generous he’s He’s such a good guy. I love that. I mean, I have a story right now. I’m trying to get finished. We’re doing a pilot, a comedy pilot, a mafia pilot. I said to him, I said, Frank, I want you to play this role.
[35:59]He’s like, I’m in. I’m like, do you want to read it first? He goes, Nick, I’m in. If you’re doing it, I’m in. I’m in. I’m like, how giving is that, right? That’s good, yeah. Right? And the trust knowing that I’m not going to make him look foolish. Yeah. And so I wrote something so spectacular and funny. And I think the audience, hopefully we get to do it and the world gets to see it. And then one day you and I’ll be talking about, hey, remember when I told you that? Yeah, yeah. Well, you get that out and we’ll have to do a show to promote that. And we’ll talk about that. That’s great. Okay, one last story. Yes, sir. What was it like? Everybody will want to know what it’s like to work with James Gandolfini. Is he as good a guy as everybody?
[36:45]
Fond Memories of James Gandolfini
[36:43]You know, he’s got the rest of his soul. He’s dead now. But everything I’ve ever read, he’s just a prince of a fellow to work with. Was it like that? All right. I’ll give you a couple of quick ones. Meeting him on the set, him and David Chase came up to me, like I said, and they introduced themselves after the first table read. Totally made everything feel like an equal playing field. Very gracious. Jimmy said to me, he goes, listen, where do you live? I still live in Los Angeles. He goes, well, when I’m out there doing movies, you should come to the set. Just ask for me. I never took him up on that. I’m not one of those guys. You know, I don’t bug people. I just, you know, you’re there to do a job. I appreciate you inviting me into that. And maybe I should have taken him up on that.
[37:25]So we didn’t talk for a while.
[37:29]Episode one of season six, the last season of the show. I’m in that first episode. Me, Frankie, we go to a funeral and we talk to James about the guy that’s in the coffin. Right. And we’re talking about how everybody’s a rat. And I say to Jimmy, yeah, W.R.A.T. Like they’re all got a radio show. so that day so that that season was only negotiated for like i think 10 episodes that’s it right.
[38:00]Now we’re shooting in belleville new jersey the streets are blocked off there’s people i mean this was like you’re like you’re at the super bowl i mean that’s how many people are like watching see they can see somebody and we’re wondering why is this day taking so long what’s going on what’s going on the first day on the set hbo decided that they wanted more episodes than 10 and james said listen i negotiated 10 episodes that’s it that’s all i’m doing i made more money that one day of work than i did in all the episodes together pretty much i mean i got to check that day i was like i was afraid to catch it i was like uh did they make a mistake here they could ask for in his back because jane why they were negotiating this is the kind of guy jimmy was he was a fair guy he he and i relate to that i he’s an underdog kind of guy it’s like listen he paid for people when he were out of work he gave them salaries he gave them money out of his own pocket he that day because of him negotiating and not we turned into overtime double golden time triple golden time Penalty, penalty, penalty. So I literally, I made five figures that day on that one day on that episode. It was crazy.
[39:18]So now I’m in L.A. He’s living in New York. And we’re talking about things. And he’s like, you know, what are you doing out here? I said, listen, I got to make a living. So he started talking to me. He was putting together a television show about police officers and first responders. And he wanted me to be part of it. And I was very grateful for that because he was very into veterans, police, firemen. He was very giving in that world. He was a good guy. So five days before he passed away was the last communication he and I had because I had picked something up for him. And he said, yeah, I’m going to Italy with my son. I’ll be back. And then, yeah, I’ll see you there. I’m like, great. And then all of a sudden, like two days later, I knew exactly where I was. I was in a store and a friend goes nick come here i was like oh my god are you kidding me that’s the way it’s like wow what a loss good guy just a good guy, if he liked you he liked you he’s one of those guys nick annunziata it was so generous of you to come on my show here i really enjoyed talking to you thanks yeah i felt you know i felt like we We were just, the only thing missing was a couple of sandwiches, you know, having lunch. Really?
[40:40]All right, guys, don’t forget, I like to ride motorcycles. So watch out for motorcycles when you’re on the streets out there. And if you have a problem with PTSD and you’ve been in the service, go to the VA website and get that hotline number. If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, which goes along with PTSD many times, go see Anthony Ruggiano, you know, former Gambino guy. He’s a drug and alcohol counselor down in Florida and he has a hotline on his website and on his YouTube channel so don’t forget like and subscribe watch Mafia Spies with Nick Nuziati plays Johnny Rosselli and just an excellent excellent docu-series so thanks a lot guys and thank you Nick all right Gary thank you so much.