James Gandolfini saved ‘actor in trouble’ on ‘Sopranos’ from nude scene
Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa reveal in their new book “Woke Up This Morning,” that the boss intervened to change a nude scene for an uncomfortable guest actor who was “caught off guard” by the bare plan.Peter Riegert, who played Assemblyman Ron Zellman, told the duo that Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano was originally supposed to beat “the living s – – t” out of the crooked politician while he was naked in Season 4’s episode “Watching Too Much Television.”“In the scene description, it’s written that he pulls my underwear off,” Riegert said about the scene that was retaliation for Zellman’s newfound romance with Tony’s ex-gumare Irina Peltsin (Oksana Lada).