If you check out the credits on The Sopranos, you see most of the names ending in vowels. Creator David Chase (whose family name was originally DeCesare) wasn’t shy about recruiting Italian-American actors to populate the North Jersey universe of his HBO show.

But in many cases the similarities between the actors and the characters ended at the names. Edie Falco, the actress who played Carmela Soprano, showed up at her audition in roller skates. And listening to her castmates talk about Falco, it’s hard to imagine someone further away from Carmela.