Steve Schirripa Would Have RevisitedSopranosUniverse If James Gandolfini Was Still Alive (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Steven Schirripa and James Gandolfini in 2005.Photo:HBO/Kobal/Shutterstock

HBO/Kobal/Shutterstock

Steve Schirripamight not be returning toThe Sopranosuniverse anytime soon.

Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE while teaming up withFreshpet, Schirripa, 67, shares if he would ever revisit theSopranosuniverse of mobsters and gabagool.

“Well, I think we would have, to be honest, ifJim [James Gandolfini]didn’t pass away,” he says. “I think we’re too old now. I think we could have … and I think Jim was up for it. He said he was because he had to get away from Tony Soprano for a few years.““He said, ‘I’ve got to step away’ and he did for about two to three years. I think he would have done it, but now we’re too old, all of us but it was just an incredible legacy to be a part of it,” theBlue Bloodsactor continues.

Steve Schirripa and Willie.Andrew Southam for Freshpet

Andrew Southam for Freshpet

SinceThe Sopranoswent off air in 2007, a prequel movieThe Many Saints of Newarkhas been the only addition to the show’s universe — which starsGandolfini’s son, Michael, as ayoung Tony Soprano.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

“I think it’s so smart, so funny,” he continues, mentioning thepodcastTalking Sopranoshe did with Imperioli, 58. “I hadn’t watched the show since it started. I would watch it on Sundays like everyone else.”

Steve Schirripa in 2024.Dia Dipasupil/WireImage

Dia Dipasupil/WireImage

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

He went back to rewatch the show for the podcast and “had a much bigger appreciation for it after I stepped back from it.”

Schirripa appears in a commercial withFreshpetthat brings him back into “Sopranosmode.” His dachshund inspired him to work with the brand. “I have a dog, Willie Boy, who’s eating Freshpet for the last couple of years.”

“They sent me the script over and after playing the detective for the last nine years, it was fun to slip back into that old Sopranos mode,” he says, adding, “I thought it was really smart, really clever and really funny commercial.”

source: people.com