The Sophranos Lorraine Bracco

Actress Lorraine Bracco played Dr Jennifer Melfi in The Sopranos and was nominated for an Oscar for her role as gangster's moll Karen Hill, opposite Ray Liotta, in Goodfellas. Once married to Harvey Keitel, the custody battle for their daughter left her bankrupt but she is now setting up her own wine business. The Sopranos series 6 is out now on DVD.
Did you learn much about psychiatry while playing Dr Melfi?
Sure, I had to learn about it. I had to understand who Tony Soprano [played by James Gandolfini] was and where he was going. I couldn’t say the dialogue without understanding what I was talking about. I did my research. I’ve also had my own experiences of going through depression, seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication, which gave me an insight. James Gandolfini had never been in therapy but some of the writers had, so we all had to make sure we knew what the process involved.
Most of your scenes were between you and James Gandolfini. Are you close now?
Absolutely. You don’t work with someone like that for almost a decade without building a friendship. I had most of my scenes with him but I knew the other cast too. We’d meet up for script read-throughs and then we’d socialise and go to all those incredible awards ceremonies together. We had great times. I’m missing it, it’s very rare to be part of a show that is so popular and so critically acclaimed.
You were also in Goodfellas. Are you bothered that your biggest hits have been mob-related?
No, I have done other things too; it’s just those were two huge successes. One was a great Scorsese movie and it had a great script, and David Chase wrote an unbelievable series with The Sopranos.
You were a model in Paris in the late 1970s. Was that an exciting time in your life?
It was a great time. I was modelling there when French couture was exploding and Paris was the place to be. Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler were beginning their careers, French designers were doing really exciting things and I got to work with all of them. I’m still friends with Jean Paul.
Who was the most demanding photographer?
I wouldn't say demanding, it was more exciting, but Peter Lindergh would always make a kind of script of what he was shooting and another photographer shot me jumping up in the air on a trampoline, which was a lot of fun.
Why did you work in Paris rather than New York?
I worked in New York too but a French agent asked me to go to Paris to see how things went for a couple of months. I stayed for 10 years. I loved it - the food, the wine, the creative people I worked with. I worked with really great photographers like Peter Lindbergh and Paolo Roversi. I was very lucky. I did magazines, catwalks, commercials. I worked a lot.
How does the industry now compare with then?
Models today get to front these really great campaigns and get paid tons of money. There were only a tiny amount of models who earned that kind of money in my day and we didn’t have this size zero thing. I was never a size zero, ha-ha. Health should be the most important thing in any job.
You were also a radio DJ. How did that happen?
In France everyone goes on holiday for a couple of months, and I was asked to fill in for a DJ. I spoke French, I taught myself, and loved rock’n’roll so I had a great time doing it. I’d have considered doing it as a career if I didn’t have to do it in French. I introduced Bruce Springsteen’s music to the French and played a lot of tracks by The Police.
What was Sean Connery like?
He was great, women always ask me about him and he was fabulous. It was great to be stuck in the rainforest in South America with him for four months [making film Medicine Man]. He was delicious. It was a difficult shoot though. We were cut off from everything. It was a rainforest with not a lot of anything going on. Thank God I had Sean. There were bugs and yucky stuff everywhere and really big spiders the size of your fist. I didn’t hit them, I was worried they’d jump on me, I just ran away from them.
Did you learn any jungle survival tactics?
Sure. Gin and tonic.
You’re launching a wine range, are you an expert?
I wouldn’t say I was an expert, but I’m a good consumer and my time in France gave me a wine good education. I refuse to be part of the generation that drinks Coca-Cola with everything
What should people look for in a wine?
The most important thing is to taste different wines and find out what you like. For example, some people don’t like Italian wines or wines from Australia. It’s so interesting to learn how different all the grapes are and to acquire your own taste. It’s a great pastime.
What have you got coming up?
I'm starting a new series called Lipstick Jungle, it's based on the book by Candace Bushnell who also did Sex And The City. It stars Brooke Shields and I play a big powerful literary editor. We start at the end of the month and I'm really looking forward to it.