Chris Wallace Asks Star Michael Imperioli What Happened to Tony Soprano In Controversial Finale: ‘Any Doubt In Your Mind?’
CNN anchor Chris Wallace asked former Sopranos star Michael Imperioli if there’s “any doubt” in his mind happened to Tony Soprano in the enigmatic series finale.
The latest interviews from Wallace’s series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace on HBO Max feature Pete Buttigieg, Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli, and media entrepreneur Byron Allen.
In an inevitable moment with Imperioli, Wallace asked for his take on the much-debated final scene of the show, and recounted his own reaction to the moment the screen cut to black in mid-Journey-song, leaving Tony’s fate dangling for many.:
WALLACE: Any doubt in your mind, what the ending meant?
IMPERIOLI: You know, I’ve gone back and forth. And we had David on our podcast a couple of times, and I still, I still don’t know. I always thought he died. Right?
WALLACE: So for folks who may not know, the three of you who didn’t watch it. He’s in a diner with his family and the music playing, don’t stop believing and suddenly goes to black
IMPERIOLI: Goes to black. But then if you think because there’s this guy in a members only jacket, who walks goes in and goes to the bathroom, he sits at the counter, someone who’s going to do a hit is not going to stay around that long. That doesn’t make sense that theory. And then it’s like, I thought maybe it’s just what you see is what you get. That’s the end of the story. There’s no dying, there’s no what if, there’s no what happened to Tony, it’s just ends right there. I don’t know. It’s mysterious. People asked me that all the time (I’m guessing that question number one) that’s question number one. This is 15 years down the road, crazy.
WALLACE: I have to tell you, so I watched it every week, that week, and you know, it’s a big deal. It’s gonna be the finale of The Sopranos. And we taped it. So my wife and I get back that night, and we start watching it, and it’s building up to the scene and the music playing, and they’re eating the onion rings. And suddenly it goes to black. And I think my DVR broke, I don’t see the end. And then of course, it’s 15 seconds of black or it seemed like 15 seconds. And then you see the credits. And I realized that’s the ending.
IMPERIOLI: You know, I mean, the fact that 15 years later, people are still talking about it maybe is a testament to its, you know, effectiveness. Who knows.
Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace drops three full episodes each Friday morning, and CNN airs a version recapping highlights of the episodes every Sunday at 7 p.m.
Watch the full exchange above via HBO Max and CNN.
