'The Many Saints of Newark' Star William Ludwig on Portraying Tony Soprano With Michael Gandolfini's Help (Exclusive)
Fourteen years after HBO's The Sopranos bid farewell with a controversial jump cut to black that left audiences stunned and wanting more, the multiple Emmy-winning series has returned in the form of the prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark. Adding a new chapter to the story of Tony Soprano, the Alan Taylor directed saga details the future mob boss's teenage years growing up in New Jersey amid widespread racial unrest. While much talk has surrounded the film due in part to creator David Chase's decision to cast Michael Gandolfini as young Anthony — a role made famous by his late, great father and actor, James Gandolfini — the 22-year-old will be joined by newcomer, William Ludwig as a pre-teen Anthony.
William, who was born when the HBO series ended in 2007, shares that while he watched a "few episodes" of The Sopranos with his dad "to put the pieces together" after they received an audition call for the "Untitled New Jersey Project" seeking James Gandolfini lookalikes, the now 14-year-old tells PopCulture.com he learned a lot more about Tony Soprano from the late actor's son, Michael Gandolfini than watching the show.
"Michael really helped me understand who Tony is and the character and what he means to so many people," the teenager said in a telephone conversation between doing homework. "[He] helped me with all the little facial movements that Tony would do, and he'd help me get those down. We talk about the mannerisms that Tony does, like his hunched back and sometimes the classic Italian hand gesture. Michael really helped me a lot."
William, who admits he was told to "cover" his eyes when watching The Sopranos for all the violence and adult situations, goes on to share how he and Michael still keep in touch. In fact, the two just had lunch shortly after The Many Saints of Newark premiere last month. "[He] is just a genuine type of person," he said. "From what I've heard about his dad being so nice, he definitely made it to his father. It's so amazing to see Michael on how he talks to everybody. He's so kind, and he's so inclusive. […] This cast and its crew were so spectacular, and everybody's told me that, too."
Still in school and juggling acting, William says he is excited for everyone to see the movie, especially after all the hard work he put into it as young Anthony Soprano and capturing the spirit of James Gandolfini's iconic character. With the episodes helping him "capture" who Tony is through his mannerisms and speech, William shares he got a lot of help from his dialect coach, Kohli Calhoun, who worked meticulously with a majority of the cast on the feature, including Michael, Alessandro Nivola, and Vera Farmiga. "[Kohli] really helped me with my accent and how Tony talks with that broad lips and he kind of scrunched his face up a bit and she helped me where I was saying the F-word correctly," he said, demonstrating most respectfully how he got to have free rein on the swear word. "And my parents were like, 'Hey, William, please. We were working with your brother. He can't hear this kind of stuff.' And I was like, 'I'm sorry. It's just my job now.'"
Admitting most hilariously that his grandmother has warned him for "never saying the F-word again," William goes on to share how he was enthralled by his co-star, Nivola, for his dedication to the craft. "Alessandro is such a spectacular actor. [...] He does such an awesome job in this movie playing Dickie Moltisanti. I learned a lot from observing him because when he was on set, he didn't really talk about the character. He became the character. He would be in the mood that his character would be in all day."
William recounts his first day on set, shooting a funeral scene and meeting Nivola, who was sharply in character during that moment. However, upon seeing the pre-teen playing Anthony, Nivola greeted him most kindly and devoted attention to the young talent. "We started talking a little bit, and he had already reached out to me, and we did a Skype earlier, but it was great to see him in person for the first time, and the second he stopped talking, he went straight back down looking down. He's amazing. I just saw him snap in and snap out of character so fast, and it's so amazing to see that happen."
Going on to praise his co-star, Farmiga, who plays his mother Livia Soprano, William says he loved working with her. "She's the best. She's so funny and nice. She really was like a mom when she wasn't in character," he said. While he most humbly loved being a part of the film and enjoyed so much of the experience, one scene speaks to him the most and will remain one of his biggest takeaways from the shoot.
"The opening scene at the pier with Dickie and there were 250 extras on set that day, which was crazy, and they were all decked out in these beautiful suits and dresses, and they all had this old-timey luggage," William said. "It was really like being transported back to 1967 at the time machine, and when they were doing some of the crane shots above the crowd, the director Alan Taylor, he was one of the nice and inclusive people ever. He brought me over. He was like, 'Hey, William, you want to look through the camera, and you want to call action?' And I went, 'Oh my God, really? Yes, please. Thank you so much!' And so he called me over, and I got to call action, and everybody starts moving at the same time. That was so cool to experience that. It was really nice."
While the movie is out now and opens doors to more of the Sopranos story with sequel or spinoff hopes, William says he is up for anything next if the Newark universe expands. "I'll do it in a heartbeat. It was so much fun to become this character and be immersed in this world," he said. "I loved working with Mr. David Chase and Alan, of course, such a sweet, amazing guy. That would just be the best thing I ever."
The Many Saints of Newark is in theaters now and will also be available to stream for 30 days on HBO Max. For more on the movie and all your Sopranos news, keep it locked to PopCulture.com for the latest.