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Steve Schirripa wants to live in Rhode Island’s Watch Hill, ‘but I haven’t done that well’

TV mobster and cop Steve Schirripa talks about his love of Rhode Island’s Italian food and beaches ... and goes behind-the-scenes of “The Sopranos.” 

By Lauren Daley

April 8, 2024

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Sure, the food on the set of “The Sopranos” was good.

“Very good,” says Steve Schirripa, aka Bobby Baccalieri on that groundbreaking HBO series. “All the food we ate came from really good Italian restaurants in Queens or New Jersey.”

But there’s just something about a Rhode Island meatball.

“The best meatball I’ve ever eaten. I’m not joking. And I have a taste for them right now,” Schirripa says in a phone interview from his New York home. 

You may know Schirripa as Detective Anthony Abetemarco on CBS’s “Blue Bloods” — he’s been on that show, with Donnie Wahlberg, three times as long as he was on “The Sopranos.” But he’ll always be that model-train-loving, most-innocent-of-mobsters Bobby “Bacala” to fans of the HBO juggernaut. If you’re on Instagram, you may know him better as #dogstagram sensation Willieboy’s dad — all three jobs are on his Insta bio.

As a Rhode Islander “Sopranos” (and Willieboy) fan, I’ve wondered for a while now why Schirripa and Willie are so often in Westerly. 

Aside from his ’23 “In Conversation With the Sopranos” tour stops in Providence and Boston, Schirripa attended a charity dinner in Westerly 2023; and dined with Michael “Chrissy” Imperioli at Longo Ristorante Pizzeria in Westerly last summer. (“This is the best meatball you will ever ever eat anywhere,” he said in an Instagram video.)

He was not kidding. He returned for his “meatball fix” in November, and again in February — this time to share a meatball with BFF Willieboy.

On his trips to Rhode Island from New York, he and Willieboy “always stop” at Frank Pepe Pizzeria in New Haven, Conn. (Willieboy is a fan.)

So when Schirripa returned to Westerly recently to host their Italian sausage “Soupy Fest,” I had to know: What is it about the Ocean State? (Aside from those meatballs?)

Rhode Island “beach towns are nice, am I right? Just beautiful, man. I like the people. I just want peace. We’re looking around. I’d love to live in Watch Hill, but I haven’t done that well,” he told me, referring to the tony coastal village in Westerly where Taylor Swift owns a mansion.

In conversation Schrippa is down-to-earth, and very much feels like what he calls himself: “a blue-collar guy.” 

In a wide-ranging interview, he asks about my lack of Rhody accent. (It only comes out when I say “cawfee.”) He snacks on an egg. (“Excuse me.”)  I learned he played college basketball in Cambridge (“I played for Brooklyn College — we played MIT two or three times”), and that he almost became a gym teacher. That “Seinfeld’s” Frank Costanza was almost on “The Sopranos.” (I can just hear it: “Serenity now, Anthony!”)

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Boston.com: You just hosted the sold-out Soupy Fest in Westerly, which aims to highlight Westerly as the “world capital of soupy.” [Described on the fest website as a “peppery, dry-cured sausage first produced by people who moved to Westerly from Calabria, Italy.”] How did that happen?

Steve Schirripa: I go to the Ocean House [a luxury resort in Watch Hill], which is one of my favorite places ever, anywhere. I was up there; they asked me about it. The timing worked out. I thought it would be fun. A lot of Italians up in Westerly; I like it there a lot. I [went] up with my family and Willieboy. It was a fundraiser for their theater, also. 

What exactly is soupy? [On the fest website it says the name is derived from soppressata, “an Italian all-pork dry salami, but the makers of soupy are very quick to point out that their sausage is a distinctive specialty.”]

Soupy is soppressata —  we get it here in the deli, but I think the ones in Westerly are made a little differently. It’s dry cured sausage, made from — I have notes — ground pork, pork butt, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika.

Is there something that makes soupy unique to Westerly?

No, I just think it’s very close to their heart. They prepare it themselves. They’re very proud of it. It’s about community and tradition in Westerly. Not unlike other parts of the country: Who makes the best apple pie? In Westerly it’s: Who makes the best soupy?

You’ve been in Westerly a lot recently.

The last year, I’ve been quite often. Jerry Longo [of Longo Ristorante Pizzeria] is a friend and has one of my favorite restaurants. The best meatball I’ve ever eaten.

What makes the meatballs so good?

I don’t know! That’s the million dollar question.

[laughs] 

If I knew, I’d make it myself! He hasn’t told me. They’re really soft. That’s a must-have for me. 

You met Longo in New England. 

About 25 years ago. The cast of “The Sopranos” used to go to Foxwoods [in Connecticut] a lot — Jim [Gandolfini], myself, Michael Imperioli. We enjoyed it. They treated us very nice. Jerry was a casino executive.

You and Michael Imperioli also wrote a book together, “Woke Up This Morning.”

That was an extension of our podcast, on HBO Max, “Talking Sopranos.” I’ve never watched or listened.

Really?

I swear to God. Not one second of it. But I hear good things.

How did the podcast come together?

Someone had approached us. I don’t listen to podcasts, so I didn’t quite know the lay of the land. But [Michael and I said], “Let’s try it.” We [ended up doing] it on our own. We were ready to start when COVID hit. We said, “Who gives a crap about a ‘Sopranos’ podcast? The world is coming to an end.” So we put it on hold. 

Later [in lockdown] somebody told us about Zoom. I was in New York; Michael was in Santa Barbara. We decided to try. The first five or so aren’t very good —  I talk over Michael a lot. But we found our stride. We did all 86 [“Sopranos”] episodes, scene by scene. It was a lot of work. I hadn’t seen the episodes since they aired. I had to watch them two or three times, take notes. 

You’d never rewatched any?

I watched them when they first came out like everybody else on Sundays. Then I hadn’t watched them. I don’t watch anything that I’m in. I don’t watch “Blue Bloods.”

Why?

I don’t like watching myself. I don’t watch any talk-show appearances or anything like that, ever. You criticize yourself: Why the hell did I do that? I should’ve done that differently. [For the podcast] I watched episodes through different eyes. Michael’s very smart— he brought up things that I’d never thought of.

Like what?

All kinds of things, the meaning of things. He wrote five episodes. There’s things he caught — hidden meanings that went over my head.

What are a few things you learned?

Well, the show was about capitalism. The show — which I knew — was so much more than a mob show. It was very funny. It was much funnier to me this time, like laugh-out-loud funny. There are moments it could be a comedy. 

Absolutely.

And casting. I was surprised to learn Jerry Stiller had the role of Hesh before Jerry Adler.

Wait, what?

Jerry actually had the role. He was supposed to start work Monday; he took a commercial on a Friday because it paid more.

Wow. 

Lorraine Bracco was offered the role of Carmela at first, but didn’t want that. 

How did you get Bobby?

I was an executive at a hotel in Las Vegas, dabbling in acting as a hobby. I came to New York for a wedding, and auditioned. They called me back; I flew myself back. My wife persuaded me — I wasn’t going to do it because I didn’t want to spend the money [on the flight and hotel], to be honest. She urged me: “You’re only happy when you’re doing this,” so I did it. 

I got the role. The first year, I had to pay my way back and forth on my dime.  But I was 40 years old; I wanted to take a shot. It cost me $24 grand [for the season] and I made $22 grand. They made me a series regular the next season; they flew me and my family out, moved us to New York City.

Wow. You originally auditioned for the role of a lieutenant?

Yeah. She said, “I don’t see you as that, read this.” She handed me the script for Bobby. [On the podcast I learned] Tony Sirico read for Uncle Junior; Uncle Junior read for Big Pussy. Round and round.

How did you see Bobby? What did you like about playing him?

He didn’t have that mob mentality. He just inherited Uncle Junior. He was a nice guy.

What did you think of how he died?

At that point, it didn’t matter, because the show was over. If they’d killed me off sooner, I would’ve felt terrible. Vinnie Pastore [Big Pussy] got killed in season 2. You’re out of work, let’s not kid ourselves. 

Did you always want to be an actor growing up?

Not at all.

What did you want to be?

I never knew.

You majored in phys ed. Did you want to be a gym teacher?

At first, but then I student-taught, and didn’t think I’d be any good. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I went to Vegas, was a maître d’, a bouncer, worked my way up to hotel executive. 

Comics I’d work with would put me in a little sketch; I liked it. Then somebody else offered something else. A casting person saw me and offered me something else. So I started doing all these little crappy things, and I got the bug.

You had a small role in “Casino.”

I got my SAG card. It wasn’t an extra but they didn’t put me in the credits, which annoyed me. I had a couple of lines. You can barely see me.  

What did you do from there?

I was still working a regular job, but I got small parts on “King of Queens,” “Chicago Hope,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” Little crap like that.

You must’ve had no idea what “Sopranos” would mean.

No. Nobody knew. We knew it was a good show. But nobody knew what was gonna become.

I recently rewatched it from beginning to end, and it still holds up. 

Absolutely. Besides the phones, computers — it’s like it was written yesterday.

What did you think of the finale?

I used to always think Tony Soprano was alive and well — that was maybe wishful thinking. I don’t know. After doing the podcast, I kind of think he’s dead. Maybe I’ll change again. No one’s ever gonna know.

What changed your mind?

A lot of people said a lot of things. Then I watched it a few times again. And there were no conspiracy things going on, no different endings shot. None of that. 

Were you all friends? Seems like you’re close with Michael.

We were all very close at one point. Jim and me and Michael, John Ventimiglia [Artie Bucco]. It was like a family. But as time goes on, people go their separate ways. I went to the 25th anniversary; I saw a lot of people there.

What was that like? 

It was good. It was in Little Italy, Da Nico. That’s my go-to restaurant here. I suggested that place. It’s a great old-school Italian restaurant. Jim’s son Michael [Gandolfini] was there, Lorraine Bracco, Stevie Van Zandt, Steve Buscemi.

Do you have favorite episodes?

I love “Whitecaps.” The scene with Tony and Carmela fighting, where she says “I’ve been dreaming about Furio.” That’s one of my favorite scenes.

“Pine Barrens” of course, where I help find [Christopher and Paulie] in the woods. That was fun. We were out there in a hotel together, and in freezing 9 degree weather. The lake house was fun [“Soprano Home Movies”]. There was never a bad moment.  I never disliked going to work. It was like going down the corner and hanging out with your friends.

Did you and Junior have a special relationship?

I love Dominic [Chianese]. He’s 93 now. Wonderful guy, nothing like Junior. I’d help him get to his car, make sure he was OK, stuff like that. He lives in England now. I talked to him recently. 

How do you like “Blue Bloods”?

Love it. I’ve been on since 2015. I’ve done almost three times the amount of “Blue Bloods” than I have “Sopranos.” Cast is great. Donnie Wahlberg’s a Boston guy. He’s on “Blue Bloods” with me. He’s a great guy. 

Do you have favorite Italian restaurants in Boston?

Strega by Nick Varano. 

Providence?

Andino’s. 

Willie eats with you on Instagram. He’s an Instagram star.

And he loves every moment of it. All you have to say is “We’re gonna make a video.” And he goes crazy. 

[laughs] Really?

I’m not joking. He’s so smart, it’s scary.

Lauren Daley is a freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1.