Although The Sopranos is arguably the greatest show to come from HBO, famed filmmaker Martin Scorsese has admitted to not being a fan of the crime drama. 

Belfast Telegraph reports that during a 2019 interview with Sight & Sound magazine, Scorsese stated he didn’t like The Sopranos because he felt he couldn’t identify with any of the show’s characters. The filmmaker pointed out that he only watched one episode of the series before turning it off. 

“I think I only saw one episode of The Sopranos, for example, because I can’t identify with that generation of the underworld,” Martin Scorsese stated. “They live in New Jersey with the big houses? I don’t get it. They use language – four-letter words – in front of their daughters, at the dinner table? I don’t get that. I just didn’t grow up that way.” 

Meanwhile, Screenrant reported that David Chase’s The Sopranos is heavily influenced by Scorsese’s work. The series also has similar cast members to Scorsese’s hit gangster films Goodfellas and Casino. A fictionalized Martin Scorsese also briefly appeared in The Soprano’s first season, episode 2. 

Martin Scorsese Opened Up About a Period in His Filmmaking Career Where He Couldn’t Get Anything Made 

During the same interview, Scorsese reflected on his well-known filmmaking career, including its ups and downs. He recalled having the chance to work with Al Pacino in the 1973 biographical crime drama Serpico.

“Thankfully, I didn’t get it; it’s a Sidney Lumet thing, and he handled it beautifully. I wouldn’t understand… I couldn’t… No, there were a lot of meetings that I was considered for but found that I couldn’t fit in.”

However, Scorsese noted that Pacino started working with Brian De Palma a lot, making it difficult for him and the iconic actor to work together. “We tried to work on a project one time in the 90s, on Modigliani, but we unfortunately never got it made. Or maybe in the late 80s. At that time I really couldn’t get anything made. Nothing.”

Despite the struggles, Scorsese went on to create some of the greatest films of all time. This included The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman, Shutter Island, and recently Killers of the Flower Moon. He has been nominated for 91 Academy Award nominations and won 20. Scorsese has also won 23 BAFTA Awards and 11 Golden Globe Awards. Now at the age of 80, it doesn’t seem like Scorsese has any plans to stop his work anytime soon.