Steve Schirripa is best known for starring in gritty crime dramas, but every once in a while he likes to relax the same way Us does: with a Hallmark movie.
The Blue Bloods alum, 67, is excited to make his Hallmark Channel debut in Sisterhood, Inc., which debuts Saturday, February 22.
“I never did a Hallmark movie,” Schirripa exclusively told Us Weekly while discussing his partnership with Freshpet. “It was, believe it or not, a bucket list thing. How many guys could go from The Sopranos to Hallmark? But I made the jump and I was very happy and I had a wonderful time.”
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The actor, who played Detective Anthony Abetemarco on Blue Bloods and Bobby Baccala on The Sopranos, said that the family-friendly vibe of Hallmark was a nice change of pace after years of working on heavier projects.
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“I really had a good time, I hope to do more,” he explained. “It was very nice, no arguing, no killing, no nothing. Even on Blue Bloods, which I loved, I must have killed four or five people. I killed more people as a cop than I did as a mobster.”
Schirripa went on to note that he’s “watched my share” of Hallmark movies. “It’s just a nice vibe,” he added. “Sometimes you’re not in a great mood, you don’t want to watch anything heavy. If I want to watch bad stuff, I put the news on. Sometimes you just want to watch something nice.”
Fans of Schirripa know that he’s a softie at heart despite his TV mobster past, frequently posing on social media with his dachshund, Willie (who also has his own Instagram account).
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“We make people happy, and that’s what I like,” he told Us. “He makes me happy. He’s like our son. We have two grown daughters that are out of the house. Our kids think we’re nuts. I say, ‘Willie’s your brother. Be nice.’”
Schirripa’s partnership with Freshpet came about after the actor had already been feeding Willie the natural dog food for two years. When the brand approached him about starring in a commercial, he didn’t hesitate to say yes — but Willie’s fans were quick to notice that the dachshund doesn’t appear in the ad.
“Willie was on set and he gave his approval. We had professional dogs,” Schirripa explained. “He chose to sit this one out. But he did make his TV debut on Blue Bloods. He was in an episode of Blue Bloods this past season, the last season, so that was good. … He left [the ad] to the big boys, you know what I mean?”
The ad also offered some novelty for Schirripa, who got to play the mob boss for once rather than the loyal capo.
“My character on The Sopranos was this soft guy, sensitive guy, and here I was a tough guy,” he told Us. “And it’s funny, but I got a text from David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos, who said, ‘I didn’t know you could play a tough guy,’ which was really a compliment.”
Schirripa and Willie’s next collaboration will come in May when they team up to host Sopranos Night with Minor League Baseball’s Somerset Patriots — 1,000 lucky guests will receive a Schirripa bobblehead that also features Willie.
As Schirripa correctly put it: “That’s a collector’s item!”
Sisterhood, Inc. premieres on Hallmark Channel Saturday, February 22, at 8 p.m. ET.
Us Weekly
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