Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Annabel Nugent

The Sopranos cast pranked James Gandolfini with a fart machine on set

Photograph: In the wake of James Gandolfini's death, we look back at the best of his character Tony Soprano's lines

The Sopranos actor Lorraine Bracco revealed a prank she once pulled on James Gandolfini using a fart machine on set.

Bracco recalled the fond memory when she appeared on the Gangster Goddess Broad-cast yesterday (22 September). The weekly podcast is hosted by Drea De Matteo, who played Adriana La Cerva in The Sopranos.

The actor – who famously portrayed Dr Jennifer Melfi on the hit HBO show – shared some touching behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

Speaking about her therapy scenes with the late Gandolfini (Tony Soprano), Bracco explained how a crew member once helped tape a fart machine beneath her chair to prank her co-star.  

Bracco recalled: “I said to Jimmy, ‘Listen, I don’t feel good, I don’t know what I ate, I’m sweating’. So I set it up – my stomach is killing me, the whole thing. Then with Marchetti, I would [clench up], and he would press the button.”

The Sopranos: 'The greatest television show ever made'

Gandolfini suspected a prank was being played on him and tried to find a whoopie cushion on Bracco’s chair.

The actor added: “Jimmy finally said, ‘You’re f***ing with me,’ and he grabs me and he takes my chair and he lifts up the cushion – but there’s nothing there!”

Gandolfini died aged 51 after a heart attack in 2013.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.