EXCLUSIVE: How 'Sopranos' Star Vincent Pastore Is Making Actors an Offer they Won't Be Able Refuse — As He Admits He Never Wanted to be a Star
Vincent Pastore is passing down his acting skills to the next generation.
April 8 2025, Published 7:10 p.m. ET
Vincent Pastore, who is best known for starring in HBO hits The Sopranos and Gotti, is making other actors an offer they can't refuse.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the on-screen mobster has gone back to his roots and is teaching everything he knows about acting as his way of paying it forward to the next generation of stars.
Pastore has started a theater group with former co-star Steven Van Zandt's wife, Maureen.
Pastore honed his craft at the New York-based drama school HB Studio. Now, he's running a theater group with his former Sopranos co-star Steven Van Zandt's wife Maureen – and is producing classic and contemporary plays.
In addition to producing plays, the 78-year-old is also teaching acting classes.
He confessed every now and then he'll meet a student who is a fan of the critically acclaimed show, which aired its final episode nearly 20 years ago in June 2007.
Pastore said some of his students signed up for the group because they were 'Sopranos' fans.
He said: "Usually, it's a guy. I say, 'What are you doing here?' 'Well, I wanted to meet you.'
"I say, 'Well, I'm Vinny. I'm a teacher. I'm not that guy on television, you know.'"
Pastore further confessed that despite his success as an actor, he didn't initially set out to do TV and film work.
Pastore revealed he never meant to be an actor and wanted to own nightclubs.
The actor shared: "My dream was not to be an actor. My dream was to be a nightclub owner. I love putting shows together."
Pastore's career path took a turn while he was running a travel agency in the 1970s, when he put Alan Arkin's son Anthony on a bus to return to college – and ended up befriending the Little Miss Sunshine star.
Arkin then cast Pastore to play in cult classic film The Jerky Boys, which led to him landing a role in Gotti – and then eventually his most-well known role as Salvtore Bonpensiero in The Sopranos.
Pastore said he's ready to teach his granddaughter Maya how to be an actress when she's 'ready.'
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He recalled a moment when his late co-star, James Gandolfini, took him by the hand after a table read for a difficult episode on the hit show.
Pastore said: "After the read, I went over to Jimmy and said, 'How am I going to learn all this?' He said, 'You're going to come to the set early. We're going to get in my trailer, and we're going to run out of wine, and you're going to do a good job.'"
The actor added: "God bless him."
When and if the time comes, Pastore said he's also ready to pay it forward to his 13-year-old granddaughter Maya, who he said was "blown away" after watching him on stage.
He added: "As we were walking out, I was holding her hand and I could see that glow on her. I said, 'So you want to be an actor?'
"I said, 'Listen, let me know when you want to be an actor and I'll teach you.'"
