Who plays young Janice Soprano in 'The Many Saints of Newark'? As the Soprano circle of relatives returns in a new movie, meet Mattea Conforti.
It's been greater than a decade since the vintage TV sequence The Sopranos aired its closing (and arguably most contested) episode, however that doesn't mean enthusiasts are slightly ready to let go of the family.
The Many Saints of Newark is a prequel film to the collection, following the Soprano family before the occasions of the television series. Janice and Tony Soprano get younger on-screen opposite numbers in the upcoming film.
Actress Mattea Conforti, who plays young Janice, spoke exclusively with Distractify about making ready for the iconic role and her real-life family's connection to the sequence.
Mattea's circle of relatives grew up staring at 'The Sopranos.'
When Mattea began filming for The Many Saints of Newark, she was most effective 12 and wasn't yet allowed to look at The Sopranos, however her circle of relatives were large enthusiasts of the show.
"They were like, no offense, no pressure or anything but yeah you gotta do this well, because there's a lot riding on you," she says.
But having a circle of relatives who beloved the unique sequence so much, she says, actually helped her get into personality. (It also helped that she's from New Jersey, so she says the accessory was once easy to nail.)
"My grandparents actually grew up in the exact same time period in the exact same town that the Sopranos grew up in," she says. "They told me about riots happening during that time and pretty much everything that was going on, so that helped me get into character and feel how they were feeling during that time period."
Mattea says she needed to stability the tough external of the Janice everyone knows and loves with the knowledge that she was once portraying a miles more youthful version of her.
"I actually think that she was definitely a bit of a mess," Mattea says of Janice. "I wanted to give a little bit of that persona, but also, I was the younger version of her — I wasn't the teen version or the adult version of [Janice], so she was still like a little kid to me. I wanted to balance out her exterior persona and still get that little kid innocence about her."
Mattea labored alongside William Ludwig to painting young Janice and Tony Soprano, respectively.
Mattea and young actor William Ludwig worked in combination to portray the younger version of the famous brother and sister duo, Janice and Tony Soprano. She says it helped that Michael Gandolfini — the son of James Gandolfini, who performed Tony in the unique collection — used to be on set with them. She says she and William labored really well with Alexandra Intrator and Michael, who play teenage Janice and teenage Tony.
"The resemblance was so alike — we all had the same personalities and we all delivered lines so similarly onset," Mattea says. "I was definitely like, 'Oh my God. Are you sure you're not the future version of me right now?'"
She says the relationship between Tony and Janice is similar to her dating along with her personal brother.
"They're brother and sister, they're going to banter a couple of times, but they're always still gonna be there for each other," she says. "There's a really strong sense of family and togetherness in the Sopranos and you definitely feel that energy coming off of the movie."
The Many Saints of Newark premieres in theaters and on HBO Max on Oct. 1.
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