Fifteen years after “The Sopranos” ended its showing on HBO, a new gangsta series is on the scene. It’s called “King of Tulsa”.
The new series, directed by “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, marks Sylvester Stallone’s first entry into the world of television.
“It’s very hard to find something original,” Stallone said Wednesday night at the “Tusla King” premiere in New York. “And when it comes to knocking on your door, you have to be a fool to say no.”
How will Tulsa King differ from other gangster series? First, it’s a western movie that takes place outside the big city. Stallone’s character, vintage mafia Capo Dwight Manfredi, is tasked with creating a criminal organization in Tulsa, Oklahoma after serving a 25-year prison sentence.
“The idea of getting him out of New York, so he’s not like Tony Soprano, he’s living in a totally weird world,” Stallone said. “Maybe he was cruising on the moon, too.”
Five decades after Stallone auditioned for the roles of Paulie Gatto and Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather, the “Rocky” star is finally playing a gangster.
“This is a fictional role,” Stallone said. “I’ve always wanted to play a gangster. Not a cowboy, not an Indian, [but] a gangster. Don’t ask me why, but there is romance around these kinds of characters.”
Tatiana Zabardino, Vincent Piazza, AC Peterson, Dana Delaney, Max Casella, Andrea Savage, Garrett Hedlund, Annabella Scura, Sylvester Stallone and Jay Weil at the “Tulsa King” premiere held at Regal Union Square on November 9, 2022 in New York City .
Christina Pomfrey for Variety
Co-model Terrence Winter, who served as writer and producer on The Sopranos, said Stallone is essentially playing a version of himself.
“Apart from murder and mayhem, he’s that guy,” Winter said. diverse. “It was really easy to write for. His voice was in my head and I knew he could pull this off in a husky voice. Wise acting wasn’t a great stretch. It’s so majestic, and when you get that glare you think you’re looking at a gangster.”
When Dwight arrives in Tulsa, it doesn’t take long for his crew to gather. His first partner, Tyson (Jay Will), is a Jesse Pinkman-like character who agrees to drive him wherever he wants to go. And his first place of work? A local dispensary.
“I was like, ‘That’s a different color in a Crayola bag I’ve never seen before’ when it’s being roasted by Jay,” Will said. diverse. “It was nice to see him ease up a bit. It’s a range of experiences I’ve had with him in the car as a driver, from getting into the penalty shootout to getting up at the back.”
There is also a romance between Dwight and a younger woman named Stacey Bell (Andrea Savage). Stacy walks out of Dwight’s hotel room when she first finds out that he’s 75, the age Stallone was when they filmed the series.
“I’d say there was a part of me that was like,” said Savage. diverse. “But I was like, ‘He knows it’s in the script. He knows how old he is. No, it was really fun. It’s been a great sport about it.”
has evolved? Stacey is a law enforcement officer in Tulsa who is supposed to be watching Dwight. Savage hinted that her character’s relationship with Dwight would develop in unexpected ways.
“We have a bond,” Savage said. “We’re both out of the water and looking for what to do with our lives. My character becomes probably the most dramatic on the show so I stop being really funny, which was actually a lot of fun for me.”
Max Casella, who played Benny Fazio in The Sopranos, said the true magic of “Tusla King” is its “various cast of characters.”
“He’s flipping the old gangsta type on his ear,” Cassella said. diverse. “He takes it out of the West. He works with a General Z-ers dispensary who sells cannabis, Native Americans, me—everyone has their own problems.”
[ad_2]
