'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Had Only One Qualm About James Gandolfini: 'Is He Threatening Enough?'

James Gandolfini wasn't well known when he landed the part of Tony Soprano on the HBO series "The Sopranos," and the show's creator David Chase wasn't completely sold on the casting when the actor's agent contacted him. After Chase watched the actor's reel, he called back and asked, "I think he's brilliant. I have one concern, and that is, Is he threatening enough?" "David, if your only concern is is he threatening enough," Nancy Sanders replied. "If you said to me, 'He's a little chubby,' or 'He's losing his hair,' I could understand. But . . .