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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
