Reza Rifts | LaughTrack

From Theater Stage to The Sopranos: Michael Rispoli's Acting JourneyOct 27, 2026 · 58 minFrom Theater Stage to The Sopranos: Michael Rispoli's Acting Journey Michael Rispoli has been on your screen for more than thirty years, and he still talks about the work like a guy who cannot believe he gets paid for it. He is Jackie Aprile on The Sopranos, Joe Jr. in While You Were Sleeping, Rudy Pipilo on The Deuce, and one of the most reliable character actors in the business. On this episode of Reza Rifts he sits down with Keith Reza to talk about how that career actually got built, one audition and one underpaid theater job at a time. The conversation starts with stage training at Circle in the Square, where Rispoli learned text, scene breakdown, movement and elocution, then spent years in New York waiting tables while he and a few friends started their own theater company just to get on stage. He breaks down the real difference between stage and screen work. On stage the audience is the scene partner you never rehearsed with, and they tell you in real time whether the joke landed. On film nobody tells you anything, so you lean on your gut, the director, and an editor you will probably never meet. That is where check the gate comes from, and why he says a bad editor can sink a good performance. From there the stories roll. How he prepared like it was theater for The Great Defender and walked out with the job. How he improvised scenes with Sandra Bullock and director Jon Turteltaub on While You Were Sleeping. How his first scene with Nicolas Cage on Snake Eyes was the longest Steadicam take of its time and he spent twenty takes terrified of being the guy who ruined it. How he trained with a pit bull in Pennsylvania for a scene in Rounders that never fully made the cut. Why he thinks Spike Lee showed the killer too early in Summer of Sam. What it was like working with Robin Williams and Danny DeVito on Death to Smoochy, where the cameras kept rolling long after the script ran out. Then it gets personal. Rispoli names the mentors who gave him a hand up, talks about generosity of spirit on a set, and tells the story of the night Al Pacino and Robert De Niro wheeled James Cagney onto the Radio City stage, only to have the legend forgotten in the basement an hour later. It is a lesson about fame that lands harder than any acting class. He closes with the advice he would give his younger self: do not sweat it, keep moving toward the North Star, and stop wasting energy on regrets. Guest Info Michael Rispoli is an American character actor born November 27, 1960, and raised in Tappan, New York, the second of eight children in an Italian American family. He played football at Tappan Zee High School, majored in theater at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, and graduated in 1982 before heading to New York City to study at the Circle in the Square Theatre School. He was a contender for the role of Tony Soprano and ended up as Giacomo Jackie Aprile Sr. in the first season of The Sopranos, a part that made him recognizable to television audiences forever. He was a series regular as Rudy Pipilo on HBO's The Deuce, played Tommy Lucchese in The Offer, and has appeared in Billions, Blue Bloods, Magic City and Law and Order. On stage he starred in Stephen Adly Guirgis's Pulitzer Prize winning play Between Riverside and Crazy. Selected credits: • The Sopranos (1999 to 2001) as Jackie Aprile Sr. • While You Were Sleeping (1995) as Joe Jr. • Household Saints (1993), his first feature film • Snake Eyes (1998) as Jimmy George, directed by Brian De Palma • Rounders (1998) as Grama, with Matt Damon, Edward Norton and John Malkovich • Summer of Sam (1999) as Joey T, directed by Spike Lee • Death to Smoochy (2002) as Spinner Dunn, directed by Danny DeVito • Kick-Ass (2010) as Big Joe • The Rum Diary (2011), Pain and Gain (2013), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) • Friends and Romans (2014) as Nick DeMaio, which he also co-wrote • The Deuce (2017 to 2019) as Rudy Pipilo • The Offer (2022) as Tommy Lucchese, The Alto Knights (2025) as Albert Anastasia Guest Social Links Verified pages for Michael Rispoli: • IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0728346/ • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Rispoli • Atlantic Theater Company biography: https://atlantictheater.org/bio/michael-rispoli/ Chapters 00:00 Cold Open: The Sopranos, While You Were Sleeping, The Deuce 00:30 Welcome Michael Rispoli 07:45 Stand-Up, Hecklers and Living in the Moment 13:25 While You Were Sleeping and the Improv Scenes 14:55 Working with Sandra Bullock 16:30 Snake Eyes, Brian De Palma and Nicolas Cage 17:35 The One-Take Steadicam Shot 22:15 Wrestling a Pit Bull for Rounders 23:30 Summer of Sam and Spike Lee 25:25 Why Villains Belong Early in the Movie 33:00 Why Comedians Are Great Actors 34:45 Uncut Gems and Adam Sandler 43:25 Mentors: Jacqueline Brookes and John Malkovich 45:50 Victor Argo and Household Saints 55:20 Time Machine Advice: Do Not Sweat It 56:30 The Two Bulls and the North Star Call to Action Subscribe to Reza Rifts on your favorite podcast platform. Rate and review the show. Every review helps more listeners find it. Share this episode with an actor, a Sopranos fan or anyone chasing a creative career. Follow Reza Rifts on Instagram and YouTube so you catch the next guest. Drop a comment with your favorite Michael Rispoli role. Rounders or The Sopranos? Host Links Support the show on https://patreon.com/rezarifts61 Follow Keith on all social media platforms: FB: https://www.facebook.com/realkeithreza IG:https://www.instagram.com/keithreza ALT IG:https://www.instagram.com/duhkeithreza X:https://www.twitter.com/keithreza TT:https://www.tiktok.com/keithreza Book Keith on cameo at www.cameo.com/keithreza Check out my website for dates at https://www.keithreza.com/ Subscribe - Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts - Tell a friend :) Be a Rifter! #RezaRifts #KeithReza #MichaelRispoli #TheSopranos #JackieAprile #WhileYouWereSleeping #TheDeuce #CharacterActor #ActingTips #ActingAdvice #StageToScreen #Rounders #SummerOfSam #SpikeLee #DeathToSmoochy #DannyDeVito #RobinWilliams #AdamSandler #UncutGems #BillMurray #JamesCagney #HollywoodStories #FilmIndustry #MoviePodcast #ComedyPodcast #PodcastClips #ActorsLife #BehindTheScenes #90sMovies #MobMovies