A-list talent? Over here!
When existential mob family drama The Sopranos premiered in 1999, it arguably redefined HBO and the TV landscape as a whole, with James Gandolfini starring as patriarch Tony Soprano, who tries to balance his responsibilities to blood relatives along with the pressures of being part of one of the Five Families.
Edie Falco, Jamie Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler made up the New Jersey suburban Soprano family, while Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico, Steven Van Zandt, Vincent Pastore, Steve Schirripa and Joe Pantoliano rounded out Tony's mob crew. And then there was Tony's sister (Aida Turturro) and cousin (Steve Buscemi), along with his uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) and mother (Nancy Marchand), who only added to the stress of Tony's daily life—leading to regular sessions with his therapist, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).
The truly ensemble cast won 21 Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards and one Peabody Award across its six seasons, concluding in 2007. And so it's almost easy to forget that throughout its eight years on-air, A-listers like Annette Bening and Ben Kingsley played themselves, while then-lesser known actors like Lady Gaga, Michael B. Jordan and Michael K. Williams had bit parts.
From future Arrested Development and Scandal stars to Tony winners, showrunner David Chase curated an unprecedented amount of talent to guest star on The Sopranos.
And, that eye for casting is on full-display in Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, available to stream on HBO Max starting Oct. 1. The origin story film stars the late James Gandolfini's real-life son Michael Gandolfini in the famed role, with Jon Bernthal and Vera Farmiga playing Tony's parents and Corey Stoll taking over the role of his uncle Junior. Alessandro Nivola, Billy Magnussen and Ray Liotta also star.
In honor of the highly-anticipated film (living out every Sopranos fans' "six seasons and a movie" dreams), let's take a look back on all the celebrities that got their start on the critically-acclaimed series.