Rhode Island Actor Talks Trinity Rep to Sopranos & “The Many Saints of Newark” Prequel
GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle
Rhode Island Actor Talks Trinity Rep to Sopranos & “The Many Saints of Newark” Prequel
Armen Garo, who starred in productions at Trinity Rep and then appeared in Brotherhood and Federal Hill before scoring a breakthrough role in The Departed, spoke with GoLocal about what was it was like to work on The Sopranos, and what he thinks people can expect in the prequel set to be released on October 1.
“The actors have put their trust in David Chase, and it doesn’t get much better than him,” said Garo, of the cast of The Many Saints of Newark working with Chase, the writer and producer of The Sopranos. “I have no doubt that people who are fans of The Sopranos are going to be satisfied.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Many Saints of Newark follows a young Tony Soprano growing up in New Jersey in the late 1960s, and stars Michael Gandolfini — the son of the late James Gandolfini, who originated the role of Tony Soprano.
“I can’t imagine David Chase doing something unless he does it right. It’s not going to be schmaltzy or patched together,” said Garo of The Many Saints of Newark. “He speaks the language. He gets it.”
From New York to Providence — And Kickboxing, Law Enforcement, and Acting
Garo, who was born in New York and attended Albany Academy — where he won the annual school “declamation contest” multiple times in addition to being a three-sport athlete — came into acting late in high school at the urging of an English teacher.
After graduating from Emerson College, where he continued acting and graduated with a degree in communications, Garo soon settled in Providence, where his mother grew up and Garo had spent time during the holidays in his youth.
Gara decided after college to keep up with his athletics at George Pesare’s Karate Institute in the city. He soon became a professional kickboxer, earning the title of New England Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion in 1978.
He continued to pursue his passion for acting at Trinity Rep, where he studied under Larry Arrick, Richard Jenkins, and George Martin and starred in the main stage production of Dead Souls. He also worked on productions including The Taming of the Shrew and Henry IV which starred Michael Corrente.
In 1985, Garo joined the East Providence Police Department, and after rising to the rank of Lieutenant — and debating whether or not to pursue a law degree and legal career — Garo opted to double down on acting.
“Within a month or two of going to New York [for auditions], I hit pay dirt,” said Garo. “I’d already been cast in Brotherhood as a recurring character. Then I was cast in The Departed. That’s the one that made the difference.”
It was Garo’s brief — but memorable — role in The Departed as one of the “Providence gangsters” who tried to shake down a small grocery store owner in Boston, before being beaten up by Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, that got him noticed by the casting team of The Sopranos.
“I was at home reading about how Marty won the Golden Globe for The Departed,” said Garo, referring to director Martin Scorcese. “I got a call from Georgianne Walken, who was a casting director for The Sopranos along with Sheila Jaffe, and she wanted to know if the way I talked in The Departed was how I ‘really talked.’ I said yes, and she said, ‘Well, we like the way you talk, we want you to come read for a role.’”
And as luck would — or wouldn’t have it — Garo learned shortly thereafter that he had also won an audition for a Kraft Mac and Cheese commercial -- which was slated to shoot the same day Garo was supposed to start filming his role on The Sopranos.
“[Walken] said they could rearrange filming for me, so I could do the commercial, but I declined. I told them I had accepted The Sopranos role first,” said Garo. “I said you’re not going to go to James Gandolfini and ask him to put everything on hold for a nobody doing a Kraft commercial.”
Life on The Sopranos
Garo starred in two episodes in The Sopranos' season six which originally aired in 2007.
“I was there probably four or five days,” said Garo of filming both at Silvercup Studios and on location in New York. “It was absolutely mind-numbing. I was in the mix of working with some of the most incredible people, everyone from makeup, to wardrobe, to lighting, to hair, to the directors and producers.”
Garo starred alongside Jamie Lynn Sigler — who played Tony Soprano’s daughter — who Garo had to threaten in his role as “Coco.”
“She was just so beautiful, and just the nicest,” said Garo of Sigler. According to Garo, the two were accosted one night by paparazzi when they left their trailers to film on location, and Garo said it was “nothing like I’d ever seen before, it was like the finale of fireworks. They weren’t there for me, of course.”
As for working with Gandolfini — who passed away in 2013 — Garo said Gandolfini was “such a sweet guy,” and that his absence is “still felt.”
Garo said in one scene with Gandolfini, that the bigger-than-life actor wasn’t comfortable putting a realistic-looking gun in Garo’s mouth.
“[Gandolfini] actually didn’t like violence, and he didn’t want to do what was called for in the script,” said Garo, which was payback for Garo’s character bringing Tony Soprano’s daughter into their dispute.
“I said Mr. Gandolfini — he says ‘[call me] Jimmy, please,’” said Garo. “So I said Jimmy, I’ve lived in Rhode Island for a long time. If I did that to your daughter, I think the gun has to go in the mouth. You have the option of course of pulling the trigger.”
The Prequel
“From what I’ve seen in [The Many Saints of Newark] trailer, it’s a prequel where you come to understand the ways The Sopranos characters became who they were, and it touches upon those characters at a younger age," said Garo. "I think that’s a good thing. There are so many talented people in the business, that you can find people who could likely be 'Big Pussy' as someone in their teens or twenties.”
And of Michael Gandolfini being cast to play the younger version of his father?
“I think it’s absolutely perfect. It certainly directs attention to the project, that it’s the big guy’s son,” said Garo. “My understanding is that the kid knows what he’s doing. When you’re in the hands of those people, you’re going to be coached in the right direction.”
Garo, who currently lives in Connecticut and is involved on a number of projects, including two sci-film feature films, said working on The Sopranos was a life-changing experience.
“It’s a great story,” said Garo. “It was such a joy to be part of it, even as small a role as I had, to be in something so poignant and prolific. It was just like walking on air. I have a huge appreciation of the blessing to work on a project like that, and I take that with me wherever I go.”