Joe Rogan Experience #1493 - Steve Schirripa & Michael Imperioli
Joe Rogan (host), Steve Schirripa (guest), Michael Imperioli (guest), Guest (guest), Narrator, Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, featuring Joe Rogan and Steve Schirripa, Joe Rogan Experience #1493 - Steve Schirripa & Michael Imperioli explores sopranos Stars Revisit TV History, Comedy, COVID, And Cancel Culture Joe Rogan talks with Steve Schirripa and Michael Imperioli about their careers, their Sopranos rewatch podcast, and how the show helped redefine television with its antihero storytelling and cinematic style.
Sopranos Stars Revisit TV History, Comedy, COVID, And Cancel Culture
Joe Rogan talks with Steve Schirripa and Michael Imperioli about their careers, their Sopranos rewatch podcast, and how the show helped redefine television with its antihero storytelling and cinematic style.
They describe the behind-the-scenes realities of acting, directing, and show business—from line readings and casting politics to Jim Gandolfini’s craft and reluctance to do publicity.
The conversation ranges widely into stand-up comedy culture, Las Vegas and New York history, organized crime depictions, and the evolution of boxing and MMA.
They also discuss living through COVID in New York, the resurgence of The Sopranos during lockdown, protests, media hypocrisy, and the strange state of Hollywood and celebrity activism.
Key Takeaways
Rewatch podcasts can revive and reframe classic TV for new generations.
Schirripa and Imperioli’s *Talking Sopranos* works because they combine episode breakdowns with behind-the-scenes stories, craft insights, and cast interviews, timed to a moment when millions were bingeing the show in quarantine.
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The Sopranos helped establish serialized, antihero-driven prestige television.
They and Rogan emphasize how the series introduced novelistic, cinematic storytelling to TV, with a deeply flawed lead, long-form arcs, and production quality that paved the way for shows like *Breaking Bad*, *Ozark*, and *Game of Thrones*.
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Great acting thrives when directors trust casting and avoid over-directing.
Both actors stress that line readings from directors often kill spontaneity; the best directors (Scorsese, Clint Eastwood) cast well, create a safe environment, and give actors room to discover moments instead of dictating them.
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Stand-up comedy is an unforgiving, long-game craft that fame can’t shortcut.
Rogan and Schirripa describe how actors and celebrities who try stand-up without years of stage reps usually get exposed, especially in killer rooms like The Comedy Store; the audience’s 30-second “fame grace period” ends fast if the material is weak.
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COVID magnified urban vulnerabilities and accelerated shifts in media consumption.
Imperioli and Schirripa recount a boarded‑up, empty New York with rising homelessness and fear, while Rogan notes that lockdowns spiked streaming and podcast listening, boosting legacy shows like *The Sopranos* and long-form audio.
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Mob stories resonate when grounded in real-world texture, not clichés.
Their childhood exposure to actual wiseguys informed the authenticity of *The Sopranos*, and they criticize many gangster films for bad casting, wrong locations, and “gangster in a can” stereotypes that don’t feel threatening or real.
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Celebrity activism often backfires when it’s perceived as self-serving.
They mock things like the ‘Imagine’ and ‘I take responsibility’ videos as out-of-touch virtue signaling by bored, attention-starved stars—highlighting how messaging and tone matter as much as intent when public figures weigh in on crises.
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Notable Quotes
“The show holds up every fucking time like it was shot yesterday.”
— Steve Schirripa (on The Sopranos)
“It was one of those moments when a great actor and a great role really come together, and they don’t always.”
— Michael Imperioli (on James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano)
“The problem with acting is actors. You have to hang out with actors.”
— Joe Rogan
“I’m not a showbiz guy. I like the work. That’s it.”
— Steve Schirripa
“If you really think as a professional actor you’re gonna make a fucking difference with racism and crime and police brutality, you should stop acting and go to a doctor.”
— Joe Rogan (on celebrity virtue signaling videos)
Questions Answered in This Episode
How did rewatching *The Sopranos* after 20 years change Schirripa and Imperioli’s understanding of their own characters and of Gandolfini’s performance?
Joe Rogan talks with Steve Schirripa and Michael Imperioli about their careers, their Sopranos rewatch podcast, and how the show helped redefine television with its antihero storytelling and cinematic style.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
In what specific ways did *The Sopranos* influence today’s streaming-era dramas that center on morally ambiguous protagonists?
They describe the behind-the-scenes realities of acting, directing, and show business—from line readings and casting politics to Jim Gandolfini’s craft and reluctance to do publicity.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Where is the line between a director helpfully shaping a performance and controlling it so much that it crushes the actor’s creativity?
The conversation ranges widely into stand-up comedy culture, Las Vegas and New York history, organized crime depictions, and the evolution of boxing and MMA.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Given their experiences with both real mob neighborhoods and fictional mob roles, what do they think most gangster shows and movies still get wrong?
They also discuss living through COVID in New York, the resurgence of The Sopranos during lockdown, protests, media hypocrisy, and the strange state of Hollywood and celebrity activism.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How might COVID’s long-term impact on cities and live entertainment reshape acting careers, stand-up comedy, and projects like their touring conversation shows over the next decade?
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Transcript Preview
... one. Steve!
Yes, sir.
My man.
Good to see you, buddy.
Good to see you, brother. Michael here.
Really good.
Pleasure to meet you, man.
Thanks for having us today.
Uh, s- yeah, really, thanks. Uh, it's been a while. I saw you, uh-
The last time I saw you was at the old studio.
Three years ago.
Yeah, we're-
But it looks exact- it's eerie. This is exactly the same place.
Yeah, I'm gonna re- I'm gonna do it again the next place I move. I'm gonna re- rebuild this whole thing again. That's my move, just make it s- look like this.
Just make it, uh, comfortable, you know?
Yeah.
You like what you like.
It looks like the same thing.
Yeah, that way you don't get confused.
Same desk, everything's pretty much the same.
Yeah, this is great. Good to see you.
Good to see you too, brother. I'm bummed out, though, about your sauce.
Yeah, yeah, well, it was- we grew too fast.
I was just bragging to somebody about it the other day.
We grew too fast, but you have two of the last ones left.
I know, what to do? Is it like wine?
That are inexistent. (laughs)
(laughs)
Do I have to, like, like, let it sit on the shelf forever?
No, no, no.
(laughs)
Listen, the sauce was good. Uh-
It's all natural and organic and...
It was all good, just unfortunately, uh, it grew too fast, and my partner, uh, you know, we had enough. He lost a lot of money, but-
Oh, no.
... not for a lack of trying. All the product-
No, the product's excellent.
Let me tell you the biggest fucking thieves.
Okay.
Bigger than the mob, bigger than any thief, these stores that you do business with, okay? And the distributors, and then you have all these people with their hand in the pie. So we buy the sauce, it's our recipe, that guy makes it. Now we gotta give it to a distributor. You can't go direct to, like, Whole Foods and shit, so there's other hands in the pie. Now you give them a bill for 20 grand of sauce that you gave them, and they send you back a check for three grand. And they go, "Well, there was breakage," and there was this and there was that, and you have to pay more money in the store to have it in the front and have it stacked.
Oh, really? You pay more?
You are fucked. You are fucked. Just like a book, you know? I've had books... I don't know if you have... I, I have books out at Barnes & Noble. To say Barnes & Noble... You had a book out, right? You have a book out. Barnes & Noble favorite, you gotta pay more for that. To have the book on the shelf turned this way, you gotta pay more for that. They nickel and dime you-
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