Entertainment
HBO’s Underrated ‘Sopranos’ Episode Officially Put This ‘Penguin’ Star on the Map 20 Years Ago
The big takeaway from The Penguin series was not the titular protagonist, but instead the character’s criminal arch-rival, Sofia Falcone, played by Cristin Milioti. While she has been consistently exceptional, Milioti finally got the praise she deserves thanks to the HBO crime drama. It’s hard to think of a more inspired beginning to one’s career than Milioti, whose second screen credit saw her in a brief role in another HBO crime drama, The Sopranos. MIlioti appeared in an overlooked but remarkable episode, directed by Steve Buscemi, which displayed incredible insight into the show’s thematic fabric.
What Episode of ‘The Sopranos’ Was Cristin Milioti In?
In the Season 6 episode of The Sopranos, “Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request…”, the titular incarcerated New York boss, best known as Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola), is granted a temporary release from prison to attend his daughter Allegra’s (Caitlin Van Sandt, daughter of series regular Steven Van Zandt) wedding. Sitting alongside Johnny, his wife Ginny (Denise Borino), Allegra, and his son-in-law Eric (Adam Mucci) is his second daughter, Catherine, played by a then-unknown Milioti. She would later appear in two additional episodes, including the harrowing Season 7 episode “Stage 5,” where John’s fight with cancer would meet its tragic end. Milioti’s brief appearance on The Sopranos would come full circle over 15 years later as the co-lead in The Penguin, which clearly draws inspiration from the David Chase organized crime drama.
Milioti only has two lines in “Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request…”, but, as with every inconsequential performance in The Sopranos, she leaves an impact. While they visit John in the prison waiting area, Ginny and Allegra talk about their diet, which prompts an already irritated Catherine to yell, “Can we ever talk about anything in this family besides food?!” Honestly, based on the amount of gluttony that occurs in the show, Catherine’s point is valid. The episode was directed by former cast member Steve Buscemi, who previously directed the acclaimed “Pine Barrens.” For any inexperienced actor in her early 20s, starring in The Sopranos would be an overwhelming endeavor. Milioti said to Entertainment Weekly that her stint on the show was “one of many profound, emotional, moving, and meaningful synchronicities” in her life. At the time of her Sopranos role, her family couldn’t afford an HBO subscription when she was cast.
Milioti may have felt like a deer in headlights while filming, as she shared a story with EW about an awkward time when she accidentally ate a prop shrimp during the wedding sequence. Luckily, she found support from Buscemi behind the camera. “He was so incredibly kind to me,” Milioti said in an interview. She expressed gratitude for his warmth and for making her feel protected on set as a young actor who hardly knew where to look on camera. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t seen an episode of The Sopranos — Buscemi made her feel like a series regular.
Season 6, Episode 5 of ‘The Sopranos’ Is One of the Best
Not only did “Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request…” introduce the world to Cristin Milioti, but it also happens to be one of The Sopranos‘ finest hours in its marvelous sixth season. By the show’s late-period run, David Chase was dead set on stripping away any semblance of nobility in Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), and in this episode, written by Terence Winter, Tony reveals his deep-seated insecurity to the audience through one shocking display of violence.
Ailing from his gunshot wound, Tony watches his New York counterpart and dramatic foil Johnny Sack commit the worst sin for a mobster: express vulnerability. Overstaying his strict temporary release window, the U.S. marshals escort John and place him in handcuffs in front of the wedding hall as the newlyweds depart for their honeymoon. Embarrassed and ashamed that his daughter’s precious moment was being tarnished, Johnny is ushered out of the wedding in tears, drawing the ire of his underboss, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent).
After hearing his colleagues talk about Johnny with such shame and indignation over his tearful exit, Tony, fearing that his crew will see him as weak due to his health, picks a fight with his strapping driver, Perry (Louis Gross), in front of the family. In one of the show’s most scathing indictments on toxic masculinity, Tony beats his driver (one who would be a fool to retaliate against the boss) to a pulp just to validate his credentials as a “tough guy,” because, in the end, vulnerability is a death sentence in the world of organized crime.
- Release Date
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1999 – 2007-00-00
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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David Chase
- Directors
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Tim Van Patten, John Patterson, Alan Taylor, Jack Bender, Steve Buscemi, Daniel Attias, David Chase, Andy Wolk, Danny Leiner, David Nutter, James Hayman, Lee Tamahori, Lorraine Senna, Matthew Penn, Mike Figgis, Nick Gomez, Peter Bogdanovich, Phil Abraham, Rodrigo García
- Writers
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Michael Imperioli, Jason Cahill, Lawrence Konner, David Flebotte, James Manos, Jr., Salvatore Stabile, Toni Kalem, Mark Saraceni, Nick Santora
The Sopranos is available to watch on Max in the U.S.
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