CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.
The Sopranos is set to return for the first time since the legendary 2007 finale with a prequel film called The Many Saints of Newark. The movie will take fans of the HBO series back to the '60s and '70s, when Tony Soprano was a teenager in the middle of a gang way in New Jersey. Among a star-studded cast is Hamilton’s Leslie Odom Jr., who will play a character named Harold McBrayer in the upcoming movie. The actor has shared the early journey to being part of the exciting Sopranos movie, and there was a lot of secrecy involved.
Harold McBrayer will be the first Black gangster in the Sopranos franchise, making his character quite significant. When speaking to Rolling Stone about how he scored the role, Leslie Odom Jr. compared the audition process to starring in a Marvel movie. As he recalled:
I’d heard that the film was happening. I wasn’t up for it in the original rounds of auditions. But there came a point where they needed someone quickly, and I got the call. I don’t even know that I knew I was auditioning for the Sopranos [movie]. They keep things very tight to the vest. They’re like the MCU.
Since dazzling as Aaron Burr in Hamilton alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. has been finding himself some huge roles, and The Many Saints of Newark definitely adds to his long and exciting career. He continued to share how nabbing the role went down:
They don’t send you a script, don’t send you character names, scenarios are changed. You have to make some choices as an actor. You take what you see, and you start inventing. I got a call that they liked the tape that I made, but they had some notes for me. I taped again, then they wanted me to tape again with more notes. And I said, ‘Guys, I don’t mind taping again, but you’ve got to send me a script. I don’t know what I’m doing.’ Then I got on the phone with [director] Alan [Taylor], and he helped clear up all of my questions.
Can you imagine applying for a job without actually knowing what it was? It would be an odd experience, that’s for sure. Leslie Odom Jr. did his best at first walking in the dark, but once he got to a certain point in the audition process, he had to know. As it turns out, he gets to be part of Tony Soprano’s origin story. Check out The Many Saints of Newark trailer:
The movie is coming to theaters and HBO Max on October 1. If you would like to subscribe to see it at home next month, you can sign up using this link.
Along with Leslie Odom Jr’s role, the movie will star Alessandro Nivola, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Michael Gandolfini, Billy Magnussen, Ray Liotta and Vera Farmiga. Tony Soprano will be played by the late James Gandolfini’s 22-year-old son, Michael. Though the secrecy was as tight as the MCU for The Sopranos prequel, it looks like it will be a must see for fans of the TV series.
