“She would wear like…barely there clothing”: Drea de Matteo Had a ‘The Sopranos’ Co-Star Drooling All Over Her During Show’s Run
- Robert Iller decided to stay away from the limelight after the conclusion of The Sopranos in 2007.
- The actor also revealed he finds it very hard to watch the show ever since James Gandolfini passed away.
- Iler reveals about his crush on co-star Drea de Matteo.
Created by David Chase, The Sopranos, starring James Gandolfini, Robert Iler, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Drea de Matteo, and more, is a crime drama series. It premiered from 1999 to 2007 and is to date regarded as one of the greatest and most influential TV series of all time. Over the years, The Sopranos has been credited with being a kick-starter to the Second Golden Age of Television.
The story follows the life of Tony Soprano, a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster who faces the challenge of balancing his family life and life as a leader of a criminal organization. The series has been the subject of critical analysis and is known as one of the best-written TV series of all time. Actor Robert Iler talks about working on The Sopranos.
Robert Iler talks about life after The Sopranos
Actor Robert Iler played Anthony John ‘A.J.’ Soprano Jr. on The Sopranos and was highly appreciated for his work on the show. Towards the end of the show, A.J. started working at Carmine Lupertazzi, Jr.’s production company after Tony Soprano pulled in some strings. But the character of A.J has had a lot of ups and downs on the show showcasing depression, bullying, rebellious streak, and more.
The actor decided to stay away from the public eye since the show concluded in 2007 and has only appeared in minor acting roles. He joined his former co-stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa to discuss his life after The Sopranos. He said,
After The Sopranos, I told my manager I wanted six months off to go play poker and hang out with my friends and just do whatever. The only thing I have done since Sopranos is I got called to do jury duty, and I didn’t want to do jury duty, so twice, to get out of jury duty, I did an episode of Law and Order.
Explaining further, the actor shared that it’s not because he does not have any offers, but it’s a complicated internal struggle he goes through.
He added that he was extremely spoiled with his first thing, noting it was perfect, so there is a part of him that feels that if he does something, he will mess it up. He went on to address his struggles;
I was drinking a lot back in the day, so I would make money playing poker, and then I would lose it betting on sports or roulette. I have been sober for over seven years, but I was taking Xanax every day, and it took me a long time to get off Xanax, and I had to go see a specialist.
The actor noted that he does not like watching himself on-screen, especially after the death of James Gandolfini, describing it as ‘torture’ to watch him. He explained that it was because Gandolfini was like a father figure to him.
Robert Iler reveals he had a crush on co-star Drea de Matteo
Actress Drea de Matteo played the role of Adriana La Cerva on the show from 1999 to 2006. In her interview with Variety, the actress shared one outfit that she took from the set to remind her about the badass character she played on-screen. She revealed,
The best Adriana outfit is always going to be that trashy tiger suit. I wore it last Halloween. I found it. I can’t believe I found it. We thought it burned in the fire.
The actress, however, recalled that aesthetic was so important to her character that she felt that she couldn’t deliver the lines correctly without the proper hair and makeup.
She noted that she had to be immersed in the wardrobe, hair, and makeup and feel like Adriana before she could talk like her on-screen with the accent. Robert Iler appeared on Kristian Harloff’s podcast, where he admits that he was attracted to Drea de Matteo while working on The Sopranos. He said,
Drea would just walk onto set, and you, like Jesus, thought she was so hot. It was crazy, and she would wear things where it was like barely there clothing, and she was always like a rocker chick, and she just never thought of herself in that way.
The actor further added that it was like a crazy thing that she’s hot and does not even know. Upon asking if he ever told her that he found her hot, he said that the actress always had boyfriends who looked like Big Rob Zombies, and it was not his thing. Iler, however, praised the actress for being sweet and great, adding that she was always nice to him.
The Sopranos is available to stream on Prime Video and HBO.
