The Character Frankie Valli Almost Played On The Sopranos

Celebrated singer Frankie Valli joined Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, who played Bobby Baccalieri, on their podcast, Talking Sopranos, to discuss his history on the show. The Four Seasons frontman explained that he was interested in doing the series soon after it premiered. Schrirripa then described David Chase as a "huge fan" of Valli, which led to the singer coming in for an audition for the character of Beansie Gaeta.

That audition didn't work out, with Valli commenting that Chase may have felt that Beansie's constant use of profanity was not a good match for his persona and brand. However, Valli's audition did make an impression on Chase, who told the singer that he would find the right part for him, even if he had to write it into the show. The musician recalled that he thought the showrunner was "just being nice to me, and I went away, and that was okay. And then, I got a call, about a year and a half later, and they sent me some stuff to read and learn, and the day that I was leaving, they called and said they weren't going to use that character."

Valli said he was heartbroken that his second chance to appear on The Sopranos didn't work out, but the show wasn't over yet. As Today reported in 2004, he finally found his way on the series in its fifth season, appearing as Rusty Millio, a high-ranking member of the New York mafia. Rusty even made it until the end of the first half of the second season, though like many other characters, he ultimately met an untimely end.