Edie Falco on Her Best TV Shows, Movies: ‘the Sopranos,’ ‘Nurse Jackie’

Falco named the scrapped “Fargo” series, which finally aired as a one-off TV movie in 2003, at the peak of her Carmela fame, as the one role she wishes people talked about more.

“This was long before I was so chill about whatever happens with shows. I was like, I want this to go,” Falco tells Business Insider.

Over 25 years later, she’s not hanging on to any regrets. She’s learned there’s usually a silver lining.

“I was very proud of that, but, of course, had that gone forward, I wouldn’t have been able to do ‘The Sopranos,'” Falco recalls. “So all this stuff works out the way it’s supposed to.”

After decades in the business, Falco has perfected the ability to let scrapped pilots and failed movie auditions roll off her back. She partly credits it to being at a stage in her career where there are “fewer ramifications” if she gets a job or doesn’t, compared to when she was a younger actor struggling to break through.

It’s also partly due to a shift in mindset to avoid setting herself up for “a lot of turbulence and disappointment.”

“You just don’t know. So do what’s in front of you and move on,” Falco says. “It’s not like my joy in the experience is contingent upon how well the movie does.”

Now a well-established actor, Falco is more often than not in the position of being approached for roles rather than going out for auditions. That was the case with her latest film, the indie comedy “I’ll Be Right There.”

Falco plays Wanda, a divorced mom who is equally dissatisfied with her long-term boyfriend and the younger woman she’s cheating on him with. She’s much more focused on trying to keep her beloved family (including her troubled son, pregnant daughter, and hypochondriac mother, who all depend on her) from falling apart.

The film’s director, Brendan Walsh, had previously worked with Falco on “Nurse Jackie,” another one of her best-known and most acclaimed roles, and sent her the script to see if she’d be interested.

Falco was immediately drawn to Wanda, a character who cherishes her role as a mom above all else. In classic Falco fashion, she was also not stressing over a paycheck but driven to tell a simple yet meaningful story that moved her.

“On these indie films, you’re never making money. It’s never about that,” she says.

For the latest interview in BI’s “Role Play” series, which asks actors about the roles they’re most proud of, Falco looks back on her iconic characters from “The Sopranos” and “Nurse Jackie,” playing Pete Davidson’s onscreen mom, and the email from Hillary Clinton that made her panic.

On her kids being ‘mortified’ by ‘The Sopranos’

What is it like for you to see members of the younger generation getting into “The Sopranos,” rediscovering it, and watching it from this very different modern mindset?

Well, from an intellectual standpoint, I feel blessed that I was a part of something that has this kind of staying power because that isn’t often the case.

I wonder what they’re making of a family like this. There’s something old-fashioned about the makeup of that family and the Sunday dinners and all this stuff that.

Being Italian was a part of the way that I grew up, and I just wonder if they’re watching it like giggling at how silly it is or if there’s anything meaningful in it for them. I don’t know.

You said earlier this year that your kids hadn’t ever watched “The Sopranos.”

It’s funny. My daughter came downstairs with her phone last night and said, “Oh my God, my friend Andrew is watching you on ‘The Sopranos’ … he says you’re great.”

And she’s mortified, of course.

That’s the way I experience it. …Someone’s friend is saying they just discovered this thing that was a part of my life half my life ago. It’s trippy.

Have they encountered those endless TikTok edits of the show? Do they just sort of groan when they see it? There are a surprising number of edits on TikTok involving your character Carmela and Furio, the enforcer who harbored a secret love for your character, his boss’ wife…

I’m sure they do. And I don’t know how quickly they jump out to say, ‘Oh, that’s my mom.’ I think they’re teenagers and they want their own identity before they become the daughter of Carmela or whatever.

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That’s so funny. I haven’t done any social media so I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about. I think that’s hysterical.

Recently, there was a meme going around about this one NFL player, and somebody said he looked like the love child the two of them would’ve had.

That’s really funny. Oh my God. That’s really funny.

Some people were really rooting for Carmela and Furio, or at least for Carmela to find happiness in the end.

Of course, but I think she found happiness. I think she was with the guy she loved. I mean, that kind of long-term relationship is hard, and it changes and it’s challenging, but I don’t ever doubt that they loved each other.

Speaking of Tony and Carmela, are you still in touch with James Gandolfini’s son Michael, who played young Tony in “The Many Saints of Newark?” Has he asked you for any advice as he embarks on his career?

I haven’t seen him in a little bit. It’s funny, I have a perhaps completely inappropriate parental feeling toward him because I’ve known him since he was born. He was always on set.

I can’t say we were close. He has real parents, but he was always a fixture on the set and in Jim’s life since he was a teeny kid. It’s thrilling to think that he’s embarking on the same career as his dad. I love hearing from him as I do and as I see him at events every once in a while. It’s just a thrill.

It’s like seeing a nephew or someone you haven’t seen in a long time — and he is doing well, and you can only be happy for him.

Is it true that you’d filmed some scenes as Carmela that were intended to start off “The Many Saints of Newark?

Yes, there was one scene. I think I’m sitting on a stool as Carmela now — but the same hair, the makeup, the nails, and all that stuff. It was so bizarre and crazy and beautiful, completely weird and unfamiliar and utterly familiar at the same time.

She was just telling a story about maybe when the Soprano family first came to America. I forget what it was, to be honest with you, but I loved it. It was great fun.

And you do a movie, and then you’re like, you know what? I like that scene, but it doesn’t work, and it has to go. I’ve been there before, so. It happens.

How did you feel when you learned that it wouldn’t be in the final cut?

I was not surprised. David Chase called me like it was something that he thought he had to kind of break to me. I was like, I could not care less. It was great fun to do and I got to see my old friends, and it works or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, move on.

On being ‘shocked’ at the opportunity to return as Nurse Jackie

Speaking of returning to roles, obviously the “Nurse Jackie” sequel series is happening. That’s moving forward at Prime Video now, is that right?

Yes, I think so.

Is that one that you ever expected to return to? The original show left Jackie on kind of an extreme cliffhanger…

I did not frankly see it coming, but it was, I guess, a number of years ago now when I was first approached about it. I was sort of shocked, but I was like, of course, I would do that. It’d be great fun.

I loved the cast and crew. It was to die for. The workday was calm and loving and funny. Everybody there was someone I trusted and knew and many of whom I had long histories with, having worked on other things with them. So it’s a thrill to think that that could be brought back to life one way or another with some of the same crew and actors or whatever.

It’s still too early to know exactly where we are with it, but I’m excited at the prospect. I haven’t been told anything about it. You know as much as I do.

On playing Pete Davidson’s mom

Another more recent TV project for you was “Bupkis,” which had such a phenomenal cast. How was it working so closely with the creator, Pete Davidson?

He’s charming as heck, and I’ve always gotten a kick out of him watching him on “SNL” and other appearances.

I can’t say we travel in the same circles. So I certainly knew who he was, but the fact that he knew who I was was like, what? He wants what now? I somehow thought someone had made some terrible mistake, but apparently, it was me that he wanted to play his mom. It was crazy.

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It was one of those pinch-me moments sitting on a director’s chair next to Joe Pesci and it was just crazy. Pete — funny, delightful, charming as all get out — and yeah, I had great fun.

Again, not the kind of thing…I would’ve expected, but anyway, I was very happy to do it.

Does that happen very often now, where somebody approaches your team, and they’re like, I want Edie Falco to play this specific role?

It does. It’s kind of what happens these days and I’ve been doing it long enough that people have an idea of what they think I’m capable of. So they will think either I’m right for something or I’m not.

So stuff comes my way where I’m thinking, God, what a blessing that this person doesn’t know me, but they would think of me for this character. That’s crazy, but of course, I’ll do it. I mean, how exciting.

For “Bupkis,” how did you feel when you learned it wouldn’t move forward for a second season after all, despite the initial renewal?

It’s the way life goes. It is, and it isn’t. And I wasn’t sitting by the phone waiting for my call time. It’s a crazy business, and again, you do the thing, and you move on and the fun was had while we did it.

I never knew when it was going to come out. I didn’t even know there wasn’t a second season until I found out there was. So I’m really pretty easygoing around all that stuff. You have to be.

There was a rumor that Pete gave some of the people working on the show a parting gift when he nixed the second season. Do you know anything about that?

Now I’m pissed off. (laughs) No, no, I got nothing. I don’t know anything about it. I’m afraid to find out what that was. Do we know?

I think it was money.

How sweet.

On feeling ‘protective’ of Hillary Clinton

You were so incredible as Hillary Clinton on “Impeachment: American Crime Story.” When it came out, you said you had mixed feelings about taking on that role. How is that process for you when you’re deciding if you’re going to play a real person, especially one that you know in a way?

I tend not to like to play real people. It’s a different job. These people are alive or were alive, and people who knew them are alive. And I don’t want it to be like, ‘Oh, she doesn’t sound like that,’ or ‘She would never have worn those shoes’ or whatever. So, I tend to prefer to create a character.

But I am such a fan of Hillary’s and have been for years, and I’ve done campaigning stuff for her and fundraisers and stuff. I felt a little bit protective of her and the fact that I really didn’t want them to slam her. And so when I read it, I wanted to make sure that’s not what was going to happen.

So yeah, that was a rough one, but I liked the whole Ryan Murphy franchise and I thought it would be fun to work within it. And so for that reason, I was very happy.

Have you and Hillary crossed paths since the show aired?

I’m sort of a politically active individual, so more than half of my emails are like, “Kamala and Walz are going to be in your town,” or whatever.

And one of the emails I got while I was shooting “Impeachment” was, “Hi Edie, it’s Hillary. I’m asking you to…” And I was like, oh my God, she must know that I’m —! Anyway, it was just one of those mass emails, but I had a moment of panic.

Like she was personally emailing you to be like, “Why are you doing this, Edie?”

Yeah. Like, why wouldn’t you just say no?

On her ‘Avatar’ faux pas and genre films

Many of your best-known roles are on TV, but you’ve also been in many movies, like the latest “Avatar” movie. I thought it was so funny when you were surprised, during a 2022 interview, that it hadn’t come out already. That got a ton of pickup in the press.

I got in a lot of trouble about that. I felt terrible. What I was trying to say is, for me, the joy is in the making of it. And then what happens after that? I never know.

I have made movies I still don’t know if they came out. They may have come out and done very well; I just don’t know. I just don’t keep track of that stuff unless I’m asked to either do press or show up at a screening. I did the movie years ago, and I’ve forgotten about it. That’s kind of what I meant, that I’m not tuned into what goes on in the world of this industry.

Anyway, I think it came across a different way, but I was just saying that I’m a bit of a dolt when it comes to the journey that my films and TV go on when I’m at home. It didn’t go over well.

“Avatar,” being sci-fi, is probably your most genre project so far. Is there any other genre you’ve yet to do that you’d be interested in exploring?

An action film would be fun to be able to be a bad guy or something. I can be a good bad guy. It’s very cathartic for one’s soul when you’re trying to spend your day being nice to everyone, like your teenage children, stuff like that. It’s nice to have a place to get it out of your system. But if it’s supposed to happen, it’ll happen. This is what I’m discovering.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

“I’ll Be Right There” is now in theaters and will be available to watch at home on demand on September 27.