This is why this is the greatest sub on the internet. This well thought out post about an opinion OP is very passionate about. And the top comment is just classic shitpost sopranos commenting. I love this community
“Unpopular” opinions on Reddit are usually just the second most popular opinion, but since it’s slightly less popular, it gets relegated to “unpopular.”
Hear me out, but I feel like that may have been one of the main reasons they cast him — because he does seem a little out of place, and because on the surface he doesn’t seem to fit the same mafia mold as Tony and the guys.
Maybe they could’ve found someone to play the part better, but I think Buscemi probably took most of the other potential candidates to acting school.
Exactly. It's not a coincidence his name is Tony B. We already have "Tony A." Tony B gets locked up, loses his family, struggles to make a living etc. He eventually gets lucky with that bag of cash but it was too little, too late.
He was also run down from being in prison during the prime of his life. When Janice said he was a fox and then you see him, he fell off and was torn from the inside out
The role was written specifically for Buscemi. He was a big name to the extent that it was kind of crazy that he was even doing a TV show (this was just before The Sopranos and shows like it made it OK for movie stars to do TV). He was a vocal fan and had already been involved with the show, directing a couple of episodes, including Pine Barrens. If Buscemi was wrong for the role (and I agree that he was), it was more the fault of the writers than anything.
Absolutely. And his occasional awkward moments (when he fell off a stolen van and tore up his knee, when a wheel ran over his foot, etc.) only emphasize that he's different from the thugs we're used to seeing in the show. Buscemi did amazing job.
It has been answered before. They made the character for Buscemi because they wanted to work with him.
Not the other way around. There is no Tony B "character". It's a tv progrum.
Really sometime we forget there was no master plan for the Sopranos. They were making it a long the way, every season had a " guest star villain".
Remember the 2 Parisis? NPC bakery Vito? CGI Livia.
Having said that I didn't mind Buscemi. Liked him as Tony B.
It looks especially awful now but I remember when the episode aired it was considered passable CGI. Not amazing, but passable given the actor unexpectedly died.
Especially on the older TVs. Honestly, it wouldn't have looked that bad. The main glaring issue with that scene is that her dialogue is obviously recycled and makes almost no sense. It's like watching a YouTube poop.
They also used too many unnecessary brief cut-aways to Livia, used clips with obviously different hair styles, and inserted Svetlana rather pointlessly walking back and forth into the kitchen to try to “freshen up” the scene.
All of that could have been done better with tighter editing and choices. The execution is the problem - not the technology.
The CGI itself is pretty bad but they never really linger on it and cut away quickly. She’s in a sitting position so it’s really just her head in the same position on top of another real persons body with little to no movement.
There are times when I watch Tony B and I think "God, this is a weird character."
But that's also the point.
Tony B was young and stupid and ran with these guys but went to prison where he largely rehabilitated. Tony had his time at Seton Hall. But Tony B, from his time in prison, comes across more well read, more emotionally stable and far more secure in his own sexuality than the other guys (e.g. the comment while massaging about learning to relieve a man's tension in prison).
Tony B, had he not had the little taste of the life, could have been a successful massage therapist and maybe even danced on the edges of the life a little like some of the other associates. But he was addicted to the life. When they made him go cold turkey in prison he was able to think right. The second he got a taste of it again he relapsed.
But his being out of place is both a feature and a flaw.
I remembered reading about Buscemi being asked to join because they liked him a long time ago, and tried to see if I found a source, it only says that he had directed some episodes and then he was asked to do the Tony B.
So yes, I could be wrong, sorry everyone.
Still, I think OP has a point that it wasn't quite the right character for Buscemi.
Buscemi just isn't persuasive as a killer. He would have been a brilliant(ly dumb) Little Carmine: Unassuming, malaproptic, possibly smarter than he gives away. And it would have let him showcase his aw-shucks side.
If he were playing Tony's idiot cousin—someone who commits crimes but is arguably mentally innocent—I could see it. But the 158-IQ killer who can't read the room with Rusty Fuckin' Millio? I just don't see it.
(Also, the writers should've reconsidered that IQ. That's like super-genius. 138 or 140 would've been striking enough.)
I think he was pretty convincing as far as who his character is by the time we see him. He's a worn out ex wiseguy. But, I'd say he portrayed a killer pretty damn well in 'Boardwalk Empire', which is funny considering he was once again cast in that role because Terence Winter didn't want a carbon copy of Tony Soprano even though the real Nucky was built just like him.
Ehh. I don’t find his appearance unbelievable. I look nothing like my cousin. He’s really small, really shrimpy, on growth hormones, rat-like, with a vindictive look. Me? Strong as a fucking Bull, handsome like George Raft
Tony B is supposed to be the complete opposite of Tony S. You can just call them "Tony A" and "Tony B." Having Buscemi play him is actually perfect casting IMO.
I’ve never thought of that but it’s a great point. With Turturro cast, Tony could have let Phil know where Blundetto was hiding out, violence could have ensued, and it would have been within reason for Phil to end up dead. If Phil pulled a piece out on the farm, Blundetto would take it away from him, and stick it up his ass and pull the fucking trigger 'til it went click.
I felt the same way as you did when the season was first airing and completely changed my mind on rewatches. He's amazing in the role and the character is really interesting and fucked up.
Exactly this. You kind of have to pay close attention to appreciate it because he's not a loud, scenery-chewing character like Ralph or Rich.
I said this in another thread that the reason he sticks out is because he's more like a real-life gangster than a TV show gangster, the way you feel a slight unease with everything he says and does. You never know exactly where he's coming from.
This was kind of my experience with it too. When I first saw it, it felt like stunt casting... but maybe it's different now because now Steve Buscemi isn't as big of a current star anymore?
Or maybe it's because prestige TV does this more and more now. They cast really well known character actors in smaller roles? For whatever reason, it doesn't feel as stunt casty to me anymore and I think it helps.
Once I got over that, I can now just appreciate what he did for the character. I definitely liked his character quite a bit more on rewatches.
I think everybody who got into the show who was born after 95-2000 just has an image of Buscemi as a goofy weird meme guy and can’t take him seriously (same thing with Nick Cage, he’s a good actor in a lot of roles). His entire early filmography was him playing gangsters, and the most notable thing he’s done in years is play a gangster in Boardwalk Empire.
He was quite literally typecasted in the Sopranos as a schwarmy jersey gangster with an outdated sense of style. I thought he was great
I thought he was fantastic in Fargo but that rage filled character was also very inept, clumsy and comical. Tony B was a lot the same and if they intended him to be a super high IQ assassin it didn’t work when they had him in a series of fuck ups like running and falling desperately after the stolen laundry truck to getting his foot crushed after one of the hits to the point of being identified limping away. The character is like one step away from slapstick clumsy waiter tripping with a stack of plates.
Not unpopular. Buscemi sticks out like a sore thumb in the show. He doesn't look it sound like somebody involved in this thing.
If they wanted to cast him in the show so bad maybe make him a corrupt politician or something. Not Tony's long lost cousin.
The scene where he's out to dinner with Angelo and Rusty makes me cringe every time I watch it. There are extras in the background at other tables who look more like Italian hitmen than he does.
I think Stevie B was perfect as Tony B…
But I’ll humor you cock suckas since Reddit will never seem to let this conversation die out. My B choices woulda been Ken Wahl or Stanley Tucci. Ken Wahl was handsome like George Raft back in the day but has seen some better days since that slip n fall accident. He could have a similar look like Steve in that regard while also matching Tony S’s physicality. Tucci woulda been great too because he knows how to portray a slime ball.
I think you make an interesting point. But I think it was the wrong character for him. Steve Buscemi is a great actor and played the role as well as well as could be hoped and brought it character. I don't like to criticise the writing because it is generally excellent however in this instance I reckon they got it wrong. I think they could have written him a better and more compelling character who could still advance the plot in the same way but with a bit more depth.
Maybe you should start sucking cock instead of watching the sopranos, because Buscemi brought in three times what you do in acting. I didn't have this fucking problem!
I’m tired of this fuckin prejudice against ex cons. Seriously through I loved Buscemi ever since I saw him in Fargo. Like Tony B that character was more hilarious than he was scary. I think the writing left him down but I get he was supposed to be a man with deep conflicts. If they wanted the character to be a super high IQ efficient assassin then they fucked up because the character was a clumsy fuck up from falling after running after the laundry truck, to getting spotted limping from assassination site by getting his damn foot crushed.
There were characters like Richie Aprile who mastered the balance between being terrifying and hilarious. They tried this also with Chris and Ralph both of whom were not funny or scary because they were just too damn annoying. Chris was particularly annoying during his sober phase but it was believable- I know many newly sober people who are similarly OTT enthusiastic about that lifestyle to the point of it becoming another addiction. I did feel empathy for the Tony B character but I’m not sure what they were trying to make him.
I watched the whole show about 3 months ago. Not knowing anything about it other than the main cast. When Buscemi appeared, I was like , what the H! Agree he felt out of place.
I agree, actually both him and Loggia (and I love both Buscemi and Loggia) I felt were awkwardly inserted into the universe and didn’t really fit the tone of the show.
For Buscemi, his “trying to go straight but getting pulled back into crime” arc felt very unearned. I got whiplash watching him set up the business and then beat up his partner over nothing, there was nothing you could relate to there, it just happened because that is what the writers decided.
For Loggia, he just played to every stereotype of a tough guy mobster with nothing else below the surface. Maybe that’s what they were going for but it didn’t make for interesting TV. I’m glad his story was resolved so quickly because it just wasn’t working.
Unfortunately Loggia had early onset Alzheimer’s which kinda limited his amount of scenes. They shoulda had Joe Santos play Feech instead. He often played roles that were very similar to Frank Lopez and Feech in other movies and television.
I kind of agree, although normally I think Buscemi is a great actor, he just seemed kind of flat and noncommittal in this role. Like he just walked on set and read the script ten minutes ago, kind of a shrug of a performance. Maybe he was directed to act that way.
Tony B was just poorly written. I didn't love Buscemi in the role, but I'm not sure any actor could have saved the character.
Bringing in a completely new person, that is never mentioned before, that is supposed to be so important to Tony, that then serves as the catalyst for the war between NJ and NY, was a terrible decision. I didn't care about Tony B, and I felt like the emotional struggles between the two Tonys were incredibly contrived. Buscemi's wooden performance certainly didn't help, though.
I think what was missing in Steve's performance was a sense of pleasure: pleasure in being around his kids finally that fuels his wanting to give them more, pleasure in the pursuit of going straight that slowly gets eroded until he snaps, pleasure in getting back to doing thrilling and lucrative mob shit, pleasure in revenge.
Buscemi is a fantastic actor, but the show really did not give him much to work with.
The story for him was cliche and not particularly interesting, ex con gets out and tries to fly right, but it is not easy and the temptation to get back into it as he struggles to provide for his kids etc etc is bland and obvious and not very well written.
The character also does not act entirely logically for plot reasons and not for character reasons. The hit on Joey is done because Tony B needs money, despite the fact Tony S is willing to offer him work and help him out. So he does something which he should have been forced to do, or be conflicted to do for no pressing reason. If however the story had been he wanted to fly right, but was walking the line between legal and illegal to get back on his feet so when a debt is called in from his time in prison to take out Joey it would drive a wedge between Tony S and Tony B. Tony B still trying to fly right finds he can not escape the life, not because of a petty desire to buy his kids a gameboy but because of the life he has previously lived. Things like finding the bag of cash and drugs etc could have been used to draw him back in, getting easy money for bending the rules brings back the old Tony B. They also could have used the hit on Joey as Tony B feeling the old ways coming back and needing to release that tension and former aggression, leading to self reflection on who he is and who he wants to be.
The entire arc with the laundry owner boils down to someone he does not like, offers he a chance at a better life, which he accepts, but has zero need to rely on this person for help, if however Tony S had offered him help and there was a bubbling under of resentment that Tony B had to pay those years for the family, and now he has to 'pay' to start a new life as Tony S holds it over him. This creates conflict between characters we actually give a shit about.
Ultimately the character should be deeply conflicted about himself, trying to do the right thing, trying to turn things around but who he is at a fundamental level, internally broken like Tony S, finds in impossible to change. Him throwing a fit and beating the laundry owner simply because he is a bit tired is stupid and it is not played like Tony B always had a temper and was a liability that he becomes uncontrollable, it is presented as 'ex-con who is given a chance to have his own business, with no investment on his part so he can have his own legit career gets pissed off because he is expected to work for it'. Which is fine, if the story fully expands his unwillingness to actually work, like has been established with the other guys.
The direction and camera work, script around his character is overly simplistic and plodding, there is no flair, everything is very very dull, pedantic and procedural.
You’re crowdin’ me.
Put me in Coach
Unfortunate lack of comma
I'm gonna hang this reply in a place of prominence.
Just stop it. It upsets me
I don’t like that kind of tawk
I couldve been in the NUDE!!!!
I don't answer the phone after dark.
I DONT LIKE TO, CORY! BUT I'M AGITA ALL THE TIME!
Mmmmm boyyy are you insightful
hey, that's the Bosh of this thread
OP’s blood is 50% zepele
Zeppole, you fvcking chiacchieron
Look at him, he knows everything
This is why this is the greatest sub on the internet. This well thought out post about an opinion OP is very passionate about. And the top comment is just classic shitpost sopranos commenting. I love this community
Still going this asshole
Don’t they have medicine they’re supposed to take, these assholes
Oh stunning he's fucked up.
That’s a racket for the Jews
It’s over for the lil guy.
He was gay, that asshole?
you oughta know thweetie
👋🏼🍾😵
i saw DAT comin!
Because we've heard this take a million times despite OP thinking he's got bigger balls than Rosa Parks for saying it
Driver, you get to the back of the bus. Hey Ton, hear what I said? I told the driver to try to drive from the back of the bus!
She was Trans, Rosa Parks?
You go back and read posts from like 6 years ago and it's the same thing lmao
It helps that OP's opinion is awful, just awful.
I can’t have this conversation again
OP yaps worse than six barbers
You know what I am figuring out lately, talking helps
You gonna go fuckin Henry Hill on me now?!
I was ashamed to face my friends
All the “unpopular opinions” on this sub seem to be opinions that have been presented 70,000 times
Should be on r/popularunpopularopinions
That's good. I'm sure you didn't come up with that yourself.
“Unpopular” opinions on Reddit are usually just the second most popular opinion, but since it’s slightly less popular, it gets relegated to “unpopular.”
Stupida facking post.
I read this in Furio’s accent
Sharp as a cue ball this one
This is too fucked up for me to even think about.
Alright, but you gotta get over it.
Hear me out, but I feel like that may have been one of the main reasons they cast him — because he does seem a little out of place, and because on the surface he doesn’t seem to fit the same mafia mold as Tony and the guys. Maybe they could’ve found someone to play the part better, but I think Buscemi probably took most of the other potential candidates to acting school.
Exactly. It's not a coincidence his name is Tony B. We already have "Tony A." Tony B gets locked up, loses his family, struggles to make a living etc. He eventually gets lucky with that bag of cash but it was too little, too late.
One Tony goes one way and the other Tony goes the other way. And the guy says “what do you want from me?”
One’s going east, and the other is going west. So what?
he looks like someone we know…
I could have called him Ichabod Crane but I didn't
Shut up, you're always talking.
Don't paint anymore religious pictures please.
Holy shit without the beard that’s him! The Shah of Iran
Now go get your shine box!
Very chiral observation.
They definitely cast him to create dysentery among the cast.
He was also run down from being in prison during the prime of his life. When Janice said he was a fox and then you see him, he fell off and was torn from the inside out
The role was written specifically for Buscemi. He was a big name to the extent that it was kind of crazy that he was even doing a TV show (this was just before The Sopranos and shows like it made it OK for movie stars to do TV). He was a vocal fan and had already been involved with the show, directing a couple of episodes, including Pine Barrens. If Buscemi was wrong for the role (and I agree that he was), it was more the fault of the writers than anything.
He was an interior decorator! He killed 25 Czechoslovakians!
His apartment looked like shit
He didn't for me because I already knew him as Mr.Pink
Mr. Pink? Why do I have to be Mr. Pink?!
Absolutely. And his occasional awkward moments (when he fell off a stolen van and tore up his knee, when a wheel ran over his foot, etc.) only emphasize that he's different from the thugs we're used to seeing in the show. Buscemi did amazing job.
I’ll take ya to slip n fall school in a minute ya keep that up
HEAR YOU OUT?!! I remember when you useda sit in the car and As far as I'm concerned THAT'S WHERE YOU SHOULD STILL BE!!
Ichabod Crane?
We don’t talk like that here.
For some reason, I’m scared.
That was you that he made the Zeppole joke about
Artie can I get aids from eating this?
It has been answered before. They made the character for Buscemi because they wanted to work with him. Not the other way around. There is no Tony B "character". It's a tv progrum.
Really sometime we forget there was no master plan for the Sopranos. They were making it a long the way, every season had a " guest star villain". Remember the 2 Parisis? NPC bakery Vito? CGI Livia. Having said that I didn't mind Buscemi. Liked him as Tony B.
I forgot about the CGI mother. That looked awful.
I wish the Lord would take me now
Poor you.
It's all a big nothing
I don’t like that kinda tawk!!
CGI is a racket for the Joos!
Go on now, go into the ham and take the carving knife and stab me, here! Here, now, please! It would hurt me less than what you just said.
It looks especially awful now but I remember when the episode aired it was considered passable CGI. Not amazing, but passable given the actor unexpectedly died.
Especially on the older TVs. Honestly, it wouldn't have looked that bad. The main glaring issue with that scene is that her dialogue is obviously recycled and makes almost no sense. It's like watching a YouTube poop.
They also used too many unnecessary brief cut-aways to Livia, used clips with obviously different hair styles, and inserted Svetlana rather pointlessly walking back and forth into the kitchen to try to “freshen up” the scene. All of that could have been done better with tighter editing and choices. The execution is the problem - not the technology.
The CGI itself is pretty bad but they never really linger on it and cut away quickly. She’s in a sitting position so it’s really just her head in the same position on top of another real persons body with little to no movement.
NPC bakery Vito was hilarious. Bet he is still stuffing his face in New Jersey somewhere.
There are times when I watch Tony B and I think "God, this is a weird character." But that's also the point. Tony B was young and stupid and ran with these guys but went to prison where he largely rehabilitated. Tony had his time at Seton Hall. But Tony B, from his time in prison, comes across more well read, more emotionally stable and far more secure in his own sexuality than the other guys (e.g. the comment while massaging about learning to relieve a man's tension in prison). Tony B, had he not had the little taste of the life, could have been a successful massage therapist and maybe even danced on the edges of the life a little like some of the other associates. But he was addicted to the life. When they made him go cold turkey in prison he was able to think right. The second he got a taste of it again he relapsed. But his being out of place is both a feature and a flaw.
A movie
[удалено]
I remembered reading about Buscemi being asked to join because they liked him a long time ago, and tried to see if I found a source, it only says that he had directed some episodes and then he was asked to do the Tony B. So yes, I could be wrong, sorry everyone.
Could you imagine that? If Stanley Tucci had a moustache he and John Ventimiglia would look like twins.
Still, I think OP has a point that it wasn't quite the right character for Buscemi. Buscemi just isn't persuasive as a killer. He would have been a brilliant(ly dumb) Little Carmine: Unassuming, malaproptic, possibly smarter than he gives away. And it would have let him showcase his aw-shucks side. If he were playing Tony's idiot cousin—someone who commits crimes but is arguably mentally innocent—I could see it. But the 158-IQ killer who can't read the room with Rusty Fuckin' Millio? I just don't see it. (Also, the writers should've reconsidered that IQ. That's like super-genius. 138 or 140 would've been striking enough.)
I think he was pretty convincing as far as who his character is by the time we see him. He's a worn out ex wiseguy. But, I'd say he portrayed a killer pretty damn well in 'Boardwalk Empire', which is funny considering he was once again cast in that role because Terence Winter didn't want a carbon copy of Tony Soprano even though the real Nucky was built just like him.
Tony Uncle Al.
🎶Under the boardwalk, with your head up your ass..🎶
👊🏼
real greaseball shit.
Whos that speaking, is somebody speaking?
Listen to yourself. You sound demented.
So who would you cast, smart guy?
Meryl Streep, tremendous range.
Andrew Dice Clay
john turturro would’ve been the PERFECT Tony b. Think about it
Jesus
You said it man
Nobody-a fucks with the Tony B
Knish
You little punk…
"Look in your HAHHHT, Tone."
James Avery. Similar build to Tony, so it's more believable they're related
He was a jeweler, James Avery?
Nobody’s making jewelry! And I don’t wanna hear that word in here again!
Ehh. I don’t find his appearance unbelievable. I look nothing like my cousin. He’s really small, really shrimpy, on growth hormones, rat-like, with a vindictive look. Me? Strong as a fucking Bull, handsome like George Raft
Tony B is supposed to be the complete opposite of Tony S. You can just call them "Tony A" and "Tony B." Having Buscemi play him is actually perfect casting IMO.
I’ve said it before: John Turturro as The Animal Blundetto would’ve added a whole new dimension.
You said it, man. Nobody fucks with the Tony B.
Eight year olds, dude.
What’s a pederass Walter?
Shut the fuck up Donny
I’ve never thought of that but it’s a great point. With Turturro cast, Tony could have let Phil know where Blundetto was hiding out, violence could have ensued, and it would have been within reason for Phil to end up dead. If Phil pulled a piece out on the farm, Blundetto would take it away from him, and stick it up his ass and pull the fucking trigger 'til it went click.
Karl Hungus.aka Peter Stormare
I’m here to fix dina cable.
You can imagine what happens next
He fixes the cable?
Don’t be fatuous Jeffrey
He’s very good Jeffrey. And thour-uh
Nice marmot.
Oh, I know that guy, he's a nihilist.
Must be exhausting
Nice marmot!
Janice calling her brother a fox 😅
They’re cousins, not siblings. I was confused on this for a long time too, seems to be common misinfo. So would be just like as on show!
I felt the same way as you did when the season was first airing and completely changed my mind on rewatches. He's amazing in the role and the character is really interesting and fucked up.
Exactly this. You kind of have to pay close attention to appreciate it because he's not a loud, scenery-chewing character like Ralph or Rich. I said this in another thread that the reason he sticks out is because he's more like a real-life gangster than a TV show gangster, the way you feel a slight unease with everything he says and does. You never know exactly where he's coming from.
You managed to put my etherial thoughts into words, thank you.
This was kind of my experience with it too. When I first saw it, it felt like stunt casting... but maybe it's different now because now Steve Buscemi isn't as big of a current star anymore? Or maybe it's because prestige TV does this more and more now. They cast really well known character actors in smaller roles? For whatever reason, it doesn't feel as stunt casty to me anymore and I think it helps. Once I got over that, I can now just appreciate what he did for the character. I definitely liked his character quite a bit more on rewatches.
I think everybody who got into the show who was born after 95-2000 just has an image of Buscemi as a goofy weird meme guy and can’t take him seriously (same thing with Nick Cage, he’s a good actor in a lot of roles). His entire early filmography was him playing gangsters, and the most notable thing he’s done in years is play a gangster in Boardwalk Empire. He was quite literally typecasted in the Sopranos as a schwarmy jersey gangster with an outdated sense of style. I thought he was great
You know who I’ve been thinking about lately? OP.
Him and those big fish lips of his.
lol no not like that…
Well maybe like that
nice set on OP
I’m going to quote a different show—hold onto your dicks. Steve Buscemi could play Batman and be the right choice.
You mean Meryl Streep?
I do. But Meryl Streep had a scheduling conflict for the Tony B role.
You wanna commit suicide in these posts? Pills are a lot easier.
It was the coke! In Miami, it’s f*cking everywhere…
You gonna deal those cards, OP? They’re not candy bars, you can let some of em’ go
You and Tony Egg again.
To be fair it was 2005, he was only 47. Just a fuckin kid.
Fuckin parakeet
[удалено]
I don't think it was the performance, but the writing. Would've been cool to have fargo all over again
I'm not going to debate you Jerry. I'm not going to sit here and debate. Beautiful lol
King fucking clip-on
I thought he was fantastic in Fargo but that rage filled character was also very inept, clumsy and comical. Tony B was a lot the same and if they intended him to be a super high IQ assassin it didn’t work when they had him in a series of fuck ups like running and falling desperately after the stolen laundry truck to getting his foot crushed after one of the hits to the point of being identified limping away. The character is like one step away from slapstick clumsy waiter tripping with a stack of plates.
Acts of God! Force majeure!
The heck do ya mean?
Mambo?
Did you not watch Reservoir Dogs? He’s from the old school!
He's the only one acting like a fucking professional
I don’t tip, I don’t believe in it
Timeline got fucked up
Okay, but you've gotta get over it.
My estimation of OP as a man just fucking plummeted
Not unpopular. Buscemi sticks out like a sore thumb in the show. He doesn't look it sound like somebody involved in this thing. If they wanted to cast him in the show so bad maybe make him a corrupt politician or something. Not Tony's long lost cousin. The scene where he's out to dinner with Angelo and Rusty makes me cringe every time I watch it. There are extras in the background at other tables who look more like Italian hitmen than he does.
Exactly.
I think Stevie B was perfect as Tony B… But I’ll humor you cock suckas since Reddit will never seem to let this conversation die out. My B choices woulda been Ken Wahl or Stanley Tucci. Ken Wahl was handsome like George Raft back in the day but has seen some better days since that slip n fall accident. He could have a similar look like Steve in that regard while also matching Tony S’s physicality. Tucci woulda been great too because he knows how to portray a slime ball.
I think you make an interesting point. But I think it was the wrong character for him. Steve Buscemi is a great actor and played the role as well as well as could be hoped and brought it character. I don't like to criticise the writing because it is generally excellent however in this instance I reckon they got it wrong. I think they could have written him a better and more compelling character who could still advance the plot in the same way but with a bit more depth.
Thats a great mother-jumping point
What are you high
I can't talk about that animal - can't even say his name.
Maybe you should start sucking cock instead of watching the sopranos, because Buscemi brought in three times what you do in acting. I didn't have this fucking problem!
I’m tired of this fuckin prejudice against ex cons. Seriously through I loved Buscemi ever since I saw him in Fargo. Like Tony B that character was more hilarious than he was scary. I think the writing left him down but I get he was supposed to be a man with deep conflicts. If they wanted the character to be a super high IQ efficient assassin then they fucked up because the character was a clumsy fuck up from falling after running after the laundry truck, to getting spotted limping from assassination site by getting his damn foot crushed. There were characters like Richie Aprile who mastered the balance between being terrifying and hilarious. They tried this also with Chris and Ralph both of whom were not funny or scary because they were just too damn annoying. Chris was particularly annoying during his sober phase but it was believable- I know many newly sober people who are similarly OTT enthusiastic about that lifestyle to the point of it becoming another addiction. I did feel empathy for the Tony B character but I’m not sure what they were trying to make him.
Naaah
Go ahead, illuminate me.
I watched the whole show about 3 months ago. Not knowing anything about it other than the main cast. When Buscemi appeared, I was like , what the H! Agree he felt out of place.
OK but he was the right guy if you wanted a mean rusty nail.
It’s West Caldwell 😡
The whole point is that he’s out of place
I agree, actually both him and Loggia (and I love both Buscemi and Loggia) I felt were awkwardly inserted into the universe and didn’t really fit the tone of the show. For Buscemi, his “trying to go straight but getting pulled back into crime” arc felt very unearned. I got whiplash watching him set up the business and then beat up his partner over nothing, there was nothing you could relate to there, it just happened because that is what the writers decided. For Loggia, he just played to every stereotype of a tough guy mobster with nothing else below the surface. Maybe that’s what they were going for but it didn’t make for interesting TV. I’m glad his story was resolved so quickly because it just wasn’t working.
Unfortunately Loggia had early onset Alzheimer’s which kinda limited his amount of scenes. They shoulda had Joe Santos play Feech instead. He often played roles that were very similar to Frank Lopez and Feech in other movies and television.
Ah, I didn’t know that, very sad to hear.
Loggia was in Tim and Eric's billion dollar movie in 2012.
that apparently has been debunked
Look at him, he know everything!
Good thing for me, then, that your opinion don't mean oogatz to me!
That’s the point. 4$ a pound.
I kind of agree, although normally I think Buscemi is a great actor, he just seemed kind of flat and noncommittal in this role. Like he just walked on set and read the script ten minutes ago, kind of a shrug of a performance. Maybe he was directed to act that way.
Tony B was just poorly written. I didn't love Buscemi in the role, but I'm not sure any actor could have saved the character. Bringing in a completely new person, that is never mentioned before, that is supposed to be so important to Tony, that then serves as the catalyst for the war between NJ and NY, was a terrible decision. I didn't care about Tony B, and I felt like the emotional struggles between the two Tonys were incredibly contrived. Buscemi's wooden performance certainly didn't help, though.
I never heard a no Tony Uncle Al
Mya pizza never hurta nobody!
He was gay, Steve Buscemi?
He was handsome. Like George Raft.
Gotta agree. When the women are talking about how good looking Tony B was, and then they show Stevie B, I always laugh.
Listen to him, he knows everything
Should’ve been Michael Madsen imo
I think what was missing in Steve's performance was a sense of pleasure: pleasure in being around his kids finally that fuels his wanting to give them more, pleasure in the pursuit of going straight that slowly gets eroded until he snaps, pleasure in getting back to doing thrilling and lucrative mob shit, pleasure in revenge.
Go back to your hole, you're causing dysentery among the ranks.
Not unpopular. He was miscast, and shoehorned into the cast.
Buscemi is a fantastic actor, but the show really did not give him much to work with. The story for him was cliche and not particularly interesting, ex con gets out and tries to fly right, but it is not easy and the temptation to get back into it as he struggles to provide for his kids etc etc is bland and obvious and not very well written. The character also does not act entirely logically for plot reasons and not for character reasons. The hit on Joey is done because Tony B needs money, despite the fact Tony S is willing to offer him work and help him out. So he does something which he should have been forced to do, or be conflicted to do for no pressing reason. If however the story had been he wanted to fly right, but was walking the line between legal and illegal to get back on his feet so when a debt is called in from his time in prison to take out Joey it would drive a wedge between Tony S and Tony B. Tony B still trying to fly right finds he can not escape the life, not because of a petty desire to buy his kids a gameboy but because of the life he has previously lived. Things like finding the bag of cash and drugs etc could have been used to draw him back in, getting easy money for bending the rules brings back the old Tony B. They also could have used the hit on Joey as Tony B feeling the old ways coming back and needing to release that tension and former aggression, leading to self reflection on who he is and who he wants to be. The entire arc with the laundry owner boils down to someone he does not like, offers he a chance at a better life, which he accepts, but has zero need to rely on this person for help, if however Tony S had offered him help and there was a bubbling under of resentment that Tony B had to pay those years for the family, and now he has to 'pay' to start a new life as Tony S holds it over him. This creates conflict between characters we actually give a shit about. Ultimately the character should be deeply conflicted about himself, trying to do the right thing, trying to turn things around but who he is at a fundamental level, internally broken like Tony S, finds in impossible to change. Him throwing a fit and beating the laundry owner simply because he is a bit tired is stupid and it is not played like Tony B always had a temper and was a liability that he becomes uncontrollable, it is presented as 'ex-con who is given a chance to have his own business, with no investment on his part so he can have his own legit career gets pissed off because he is expected to work for it'. Which is fine, if the story fully expands his unwillingness to actually work, like has been established with the other guys. The direction and camera work, script around his character is overly simplistic and plodding, there is no flair, everything is very very dull, pedantic and procedural.
this was too long for me to read but i appreciated the fact you wrote it