1 of 4 | Lorraine Bracco appeared on “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon,” where she shared how she and James Gandolfini reacted to learning about the controversial ending of “The Sopranos.” Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Lorraine Bracco appeared Tuesday on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, where she she shared how she and James Gandolfini initially reacted to learning how The Sopranos would end.
Bracco, who played Dr. Melfi on the HBO series, told Fallon she and Gandolfini, who starred as Tony Soprano, learned together about creator David Chase’s plans for the series finale’s controversial cut to black.
“I’ll tell you the truth, I was sitting next to Jimmy Gandolfini, and he just went like this: ‘That’s it? That’s it?’ And you know how he always used to push his hair back, and he just walked out. He was like, ‘That’s it?’ He couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess that’s it,'” Bracco said.
Bracco was cagey on the subject of her own feelings about the ending of the series.
“The only thing I can say is that people are still talking about it, so I guess David did do something interesting,” she said.
Bracco also shared that she was originally considered for the role of Carmella Soprano, but after reading the script for the pilot she decided the role of Dr. Melfi appealed to her more.
“[Chase] wanted to meet me, he just really wanted to meet me. And I went in, I had read the script, which I really loved, and I went in saying to myself, ‘Get Dr. Melfi.’ I wanted it.”
Bracco will next be seen alongside Vince Vaughn and Susan Sarandon in the Netflix film Nonnas, which debuts on the streaming service Friday.
Susan Sarandon, Vince Vaughn attend ‘Nonnas’ premiere
Susan Sarandon arrives on the red carpet at the premiere of Netflix’s “Nonnas” at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on April 30, 2025. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
