Before Fargo season four premiered, Chris Rock described his crime syndicate leader and businessman character as being “Tony Soprano-esque.” Now, it’s become a cliché to compare an anti-hero in a prestige drama — which Loy Cannon was — to James Gandolfini’s role on The Sopranos. But we’ll let it slide with Rock because he was offered a role on the HBO series, which he turned down multiple times.
“I thought he wanted me to host his wife’s charity event or something. [Fargo] is a big job. And sometimes you can respect something so much, you don’t even want to be a part of it,” Rock said in a roundtable interview for the Hollywood Reporter about meeting Fargo creator Noah Hawley. “Years ago, when I had my own show on HBO, it was at the height of The Sopranos, and I got a couple of offers to be on The Sopranos, and I was like, “I like it too much, I don’t want to spoil it.” But I was such a fan [of Fargo], I took the meeting anyway.” Rock accepted the offer because he loved how Hawley wrote for Mike Milligan, Bokeem Woodbine’s “Jabberwocky”-reciting character from season two.
The Chris Rock Show aired from 1997 and 2000, meaning it overlapped with seasons one and two of The Sopranos. It’s a good thing Rock declined the invitation. Otherwise, one of the biggest scenes in the show’s history would have been spoiled for him. I’m, of course, referring to when [cut to black].
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
