For Bay Ridge actor Lou Martini Jr., the
14th time was the charm.
The 96th Street resident told GO Brooklyn he auditioned for parts
on "The Sopranos" 13 times before he nabbed a recurring
role on the acclaimed HBO mob drama.
"I was 0 for 13," said Martini (pictured), whose first
acting job was a small part in the classic 1972 film, "The
Godfather." (His father was originally cast as Luca Brasi
in the movie, but fell ill and had to be replaced.)
"You’re torn up about it; you get all these auditions and
you don’t get the job, but then you think the positive side of
it is that they keep calling you back," said Martini. "I
guess, finally, they found the right fit with this character."
In the show’s sixth and final season, Martini will be seen playing
Anthony Infante, brother-in-law of New York boss Johnny "Sack"
Sacrimoni (Vincent Curatola).
"I got a couple of episodes out of it. That’s cool, so we’ll
see what happens," he said, noting he has lines in episodes
1 and 2 and will be seen, but not heard, in "a big family
wedding type thing."
"My really nice episode is episode 10, where I have four
scenes," he revealed.
So, given the show’s legendary confidentiality requirements,
what can Martini say about playing Infante?
"Anthony is not a mobster," noted the actor who was
a regular on TV’s "Falcone," appeared on all the "Law
& Order" procedurals and co-starred in the off-Broadway
play, "Tony ’n’ Tina’s Wedding."
"Anthony is a legitimate businessman, who is maybe one of
those guys who is caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time
and he is very loyal to his brother-in-law. So, I think what
they liked about me was they didn’t want a tough-guy for his
role, especially one of those fake TV tough-guys," said
the Queens native. "I think that’s what got me the role.
I think Anthony is a likeable guy, and he is just trying to do
the best he can for Johnny while Johnny is in prison."
Asked if Anthony will become acting boss of the Lupertazzi family,
angering captain Phil Leotardo, Martini scoffed: "That’s
one of those Internet things. It’s just rumors. That was one
of the stories that there was going to be a power struggle between
me and Phil Leotardo, but that was strictly a rumor."