He is widely admired for a pedigree acting career, spanning The Sopranos, The White Lotus, Goodfellas and beyond – but you may not know that Michael Imperioli also has a nice line in gritty garage rock, singing and playing guitar with his trio Zopa. Ahead of a new EP released 13 August, he’ll be joining us to answer your questions, which you can post in the comments below.
Imperioli will perhaps always be most celebrated for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos: the young wayward protege in a perpetually toxic yet tender dynamic with crime boss Tony Soprano. It is the defining TV show of the early 2000s – perhaps of all time – and Imperioli not only acted in it but wrote a number of episodes, as well as providing the voiceover for latterday movie sequel The Many Saints of Newark.
Other great mob roles included the put-upon Spider in Goodfellas and as Giorgio Carmonte opposite Bruce Willis in Last Man Standing, while there were other supporting parts in iconic 90s films such as Bad Boys, Dead Presidents and The Basketball Diaries. A longstanding partnership with Spike Lee saw him act in Jungle Fever, Malcolm X and Clockers, then co-write, co-produce and appear in Summer of Sam.
More recently there was a starring role in the celebrated second season of The White Lotus, playing a wealthy holidaymaker trying to keep his sex addiction in check around his son and father, in a deft and funny exploration of generationally toxic masculinity – he is nominated for best supporting actor in a drama at this year’s Emmy awards.
But alongside his acting career has been a robust passion for music. He has showcased his excellent taste via guest slots on NTS Radio, picking out everything from Little Richard to Diamanda Galás, Charles Mingus to Cat Power. Then in 2020, Zopa – “patience” in Tibetan – released their debut album La Dolce Vita, with shades of classic NYC acts such as Lou Reed and New York Dolls but with an affectingly heartfelt bent that is all Imperioli’s.
We’d love to hear your questions about Imperioli’s songwriting and musical loves – plus anything across his remarkable acting career. Post them in the comments below before 5pm BST on Monday 7 August.
