The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe Rogan Experience #1493 - Steve Schirripa & Michael Imperioli
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 3:40
Reconnecting at the new studio + Steve’s pasta sauce business realities
Joe welcomes Steve Schirripa and Michael Imperioli, noting the new studio feels eerily like the old one. The conversation quickly turns to Steve’s discontinued pasta sauce and why scaling a food product can get crushed by retail/distribution economics.
- •New studio intentionally rebuilt to feel identical to the old setup
- •Steve’s sauce ends after growing too fast despite a strong product
- •Retailers/distributors take cuts, charge for shelf placement, and claim “breakage”
- •Comparisons to book retail: pay-to-play merchandising and hidden fees
- •Small/local deli strategy vs. national expansion pressure
- 3:40 – 4:29
Launching the Sopranos rewatch podcast during COVID
Steve and Michael explain how the podcast wasn’t originally their idea, but became timely once quarantine drove huge Sopranos rewatching. They describe building home setups, recording remotely from opposite coasts, and leaning into fan demand.
- •Producers approached them; plans changed when COVID shut studios down
- •Initial reluctance: “Who needs a podcast right now?” during early crisis mood
- •Remote recording: Steve in New York, Michael in California
- •Quarantine binge-watching made Sopranos trend again with a younger audience
- •Format: episode breakdowns, behind-the-scenes stories, and guest interviews
- 4:29 – 10:35
New York in 2020: empty streets, looting aftermath, policing and homelessness
They compare pandemic-era New York to California’s city issues: boarded-up neighborhoods, looting damage, and intense uncertainty. The discussion widens into policing morale, public opinion, and homelessness worsening under COVID economic pressure.
- •Steve describes downtown Manhattan as empty, eerie, and later damaged by looting
- •Criticism of NYC leadership and policy changes affecting policing
- •Shared concern about homelessness escalation (NYC, California, San Francisco)
- •Economic collapse and quarantine reduce street activity and panhandling
- •Impact on recruitment/retention: fewer people wanting to become cops
- 10:35 – 15:22
Why The Sopranos still dominates: antihero TV and cinematic storytelling
Joe praises The Sopranos as one of the greatest shows ever and a template for modern serialized prestige TV. Steve and Michael reflect on how well it holds up, the bittersweet rewatch after James Gandolfini’s death, and why Tony Soprano was a unique lead.
- •Sopranos as a catalyst for serialized, must-follow TV storytelling
- •Early prestige-TV “antihero” model and cinematic/novelistic structure
- •Show feels undated aside from phones/computers
- •Gandolfini’s acting range and perfect actor-role alignment
- •Rewatching is emotionally complicated because of Gandolfini
- 15:22 – 30:46
Early careers and acting craft: read-throughs, auditions, and “line readings” fights
They trade stories about how actors are evaluated, including the high-stakes read-through culture and why directors giving line readings can enrage performers. Michael explains how line readings kill organic discovery; Steve admits he sometimes prefers direct instruction.
- •Steve recalls asking Joe for advice on how to perform at a read-through
- •Actors can be fired after read-throughs for being flat or unprepared
- •Why line readings bother many actors: imitation vs. truthful creation
- •Michael’s blunt experiences with directors who can’t give usable direction
- •Examples of great direction: Scorsese creating freedom and confidence
- 30:46 – 33:39
Sopranos production stories: recasts, dubs, rewrites, and surprise changes
Steve and Michael share behind-the-scenes examples of how scenes and roles changed after filming. They describe re-shoots, replaced actors, dubbed dialogue, and even removed scenes that disappeared from later releases.
- •Sopranos would rewrite/reshoot scenes if the edit didn’t work
- •Fabolous scene re-shot with Treach due to age/fit concerns
- •A Broadway actor’s performance led to voice dubbing
- •Fairuza Balk scene reportedly re-shot and removed from DVDs
- •The show’s budget/time allowed unusual levels of revision
- 33:39 – 1:02:08
Stand-up comedy deep dive: Pryor, Lenny Bruce, hecklers, and prop comedy
The conversation pivots hard into comedy history: Joe’s first inspirations, working after Richard Pryor nightly, and how styles evolved from Catskills joke-telling to confessional social commentary. They trade heckler stories, debate comics vs. actors, and talk about extinct genres like prop comics.
- •Joe’s defining early influence: Richard Pryor; later working with him at the Comedy Store
- •Lenny Bruce’s boundary-pushing and the cost of arrests/lawsuits
- •Heckler handling: Belzer’s notorious line; stories of comics losing control
- •Why “prop comics” largely vanished (Carrot Top/Gallagher defining the lane)
- •Mitzi Shore’s ‘throw you to the wolves’ philosophy to build comics
- 1:02:08 – 1:07:57
Vegas, clubs, and the post-COVID fight-sport era: UFC without crowds
Joe explains how UFC events ran in empty venues and why the silence changes the viewing experience. Steve ties it back to Vegas entertainment cycles, while they compare boxing’s peaks with MMA’s multidimensional excitement.
- •UFC APEX shows: no audience, more audible coaching, breathing, and impact
- •Remote post-fight interviews and altered broadcast logistics
- •Boxing still big for major fights, but MMA offers more varied threats
- •Steve’s memories of classic Vegas boxing events and venues
- •Vegas comedy ecosystem rebuilding with new clubs and residencies
- 1:07:57 – 1:15:07
Boxing legends and late-career comebacks: Ali, Tyson, Holyfield, Foreman
They share a Sopranos-set story of Muhammad Ali visiting during the “coma” episodes and the emotional impact on cast/crew. The discussion moves to brain trauma concerns, plus the surreal possibility of Tyson-Holyfield returning and what modern hormone therapy changes.
- •Michael brings Muhammad Ali to set; crew reaction, photos, standing ovation
- •Ali as a cultural figure beyond sports; Vietnam-era symbolism
- •CTE/neurological decline as a cautionary tale for fighters
- •Tyson’s training resurgence, Tyson Ranch, and potential exhibitions
- •Foreman’s comeback arc and becoming oldest heavyweight champ
- 1:15:07 – 1:22:40
Food talk: Michael wins Chopped, Joe cooks hunted elk, and “what do you cook?”
Michael describes competing on Chopped and how improvisational cooking under time pressure differs from normal home cooking—especially with cameras in your face. Joe explains how hunting supplies his freezer, how to cook lean elk properly, and Steve talks about limited kitchen skills and his early clam-house job.
- •Chopped format: timed appetizer/main/dessert with odd mystery ingredients
- •Michael’s approach: creativity, soups, and boozy ice cream desserts
- •Joe’s hunting-based diet: elk yields hundreds of pounds; cooking lean meat carefully
- •Steve’s cooking limits but strong sauce identity; breakfast basics
- •Teen job at Umberto’s: clam shucking and neighborhood ties
- 1:22:40 – 1:26:58
Growing up around mob culture + Gotti, Vegas wiseguys, and “real guys” in the neighborhood
Steve explains how Bensonhurst’s mob presence was ambient—neighbors, coaches, local businesses—often only understood years later. Joe and Michael discuss Gotti’s public image, old-guard secrecy, and how that cultural reality shaped performances in mob stories.
- •Mob presence as everyday neighborhood background in 1970s Brooklyn
- •Steve’s Vegas years overlapping with notable wiseguys; mentions Spilotro era
- •Gotti as folk-hero to some communities; flashiness vs. old-guard discretion
- •Joe notes Gotti’s grandson as an MMA fighter; discussion of fighting reputation
- •Reflection: most mobsters end up dead or in prison despite different lifestyles
- 1:26:58 – 1:47:15
Michael Imperioli’s path: from pre-med mindset to acting school and building a 75-seat theater
Michael details how he pivoted from conventional career goals after discovering plays and theater in high school. He describes acting training, the value of live performance, and the ambitious (and financially difficult) experience of building and running an intimate Manhattan theater for new plays.
- •Decision point: asking ‘If you could do anything, what would it be?’
- •Early training in NYC; long-term mentorship and community-building
- •Why theater is special: full-story immersion and live audience interplay
- •Building a West 29th Street theater (75 seats) and producing only new plays
- •Funding collapse after the recession ended the project despite passion
- 1:47:15 – 2:33:09
James Gandolfini off-screen + Harvey Weinstein stories and Hollywood complicity
They reflect on Gandolfini being nothing like Tony Soprano and avoiding talk shows, then shift into personal run-ins and industry lore about Harvey Weinstein. The discussion expands to how power enables abuse, why so many stayed silent, and how the “casting couch” dynamic echoes through Hollywood history.
- •Gandolfini as laid-back, music-loving, and private; resisted talk-show circuit
- •Steve recounts Gandolfini’s anger at Weinstein’s demands for promotion
- •Weinstein’s power, intimidation, and the shocking ‘built into contracts’ settlements
- •Why assistants/others enabled behavior: fear, diffusion of responsibility, career leverage
- •Broader context: casting couch history, Fatty Arbuckle controversy, and media myth vs. evidence
