For Millennials. By Millennials.
Paulie Walnuts is easily one of the most loved characters on the Sopranos. He had a unique character, mannerisms, accent, everything! However, as it turns out, the actor who played him, Tony Sirico, lived a very colorful life. We discussed how he was a real-life gangster, but his life was more interesting than that. So much so, that he once gave Jimi Hendrix a veggie!
Imagine Paulie Walnuts giving Hendrix a wedgie
As insane as it sounds, none of this is made up. Now the actor who played Paulie Walnuts, Tony Sirico, used to rob night clubs. He used to start fights and brawls outside of them so that the owners would pay him to go away. But, before that, he was a bouncer at a club in the Village in the late 60s. And there, Tony Sirico claims that he used to give Jimi Hendrix a wedgie! And it might have happened more than once.
As bizarre as this sounds, Michael Imperioli says that it happened! On his Talking Sopranos podcast, he revealed that Tony Sirico mentioned that it was a regular occurrence back in the 60s. Just think how bizarre it is that Paulie Walnuts used to give THE Jimi Hendrix a Wedgie.
He was on the cover of a porno magazine too
As if giving Hendrix a Wedgie wasn’t enough, Paulie Walnuts was also a real ladies’ man. So much so that he once featured on the cover of a porno magazine called “Viva”, which was exclusively for women. Tony Sirico showed that cover to Michael Imperioli himself!
And if that wasn’t crazy enough, Tony Sirico and Tom Jones, the famous singer, once slept with the same woman! Although, Tom Jones did specify that that didn’t happen at the same time, so I guess that’s a relief? Imagine Paulie Walnuts in a threesome with Tom Jones!
But, being such a ladies’ man required a lot of hard work. It’s known that Tony Sirico used to spend 2.5 hours working on just his hair on the set of the Sopranos! Yes, that’s hours, not minutes. I guess it took a lot of work to be Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri now, right? Anyways, if you want more behind the scenes information about the amazing cast of the Sopranos, check out the Talking Sopranos Podcast!
