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Warning: Spoilers ahead for one of the biggest spoilers in modern TV history.
Her Emmy statue used to be displayed in a bathroom.
I was that guy who had to downplay everything, Drea de Matteo explains.
All these years later, shes still processing the whole thing.
Its too big for me to wrap my head around it, she says.
Like, how did I get this far?
I was a mess of a kid and now Im here with a fucking Emmy?
Like, holy shit, when I won I almost died.
And its perfectly fine to admit that youre still not over what happened.
Spill all to Christopher in the hopes that hell join her in the Witness Protection Program.
Im really proud of it, the actress says of her role.
We changed the history of TV with that show, and I know my character was iconic.
My daughter once looked up what I did and told me, Oh my God, Mom!
So we asked her to divulge all the details about her infamous TV exit.
Do you realize how painful it is to rewatch this episode, even for research purposes?I know.
She was a good girl.
She didnt deserve to die!I agree!
She was the shows sacrificial lamb.
So lets do the math.
Adriana meets the agent in an episode that aired in the spring of 2002.
She dies two years later at the tail end of season five.
He looked at me and said, Ill get back to you.
And I thought, Am I effing myself?
Like, I hope hes not mad at me now because I wanted to do something that was notSopranosrelated.
In a lot of ways, I was his baby.
I didnt want him to think I was too big for my britches.
Then he lowered the boom?Ill never forget it.
Usually its the men.
Hes like the Godfather in that sense.
But the truth was that I was going to be killed.
And they aired both scenarios in the episode because Adriana imagined that she was free.
I was very burned out because back in those days I was very Method.
I took things maybe too seriously.
But I have to say, the actual death scene was nothing for me at that point.
The scene I really struggled with was the one where I confessed to Christopher.
Well, he responds by flying into a rage and punching you and almost choking you to death.
What was your relationship with Michael like at that point?Michael and I definitely hung out a lot.
I always say that everything I learned about acting was from working so closely with him.
So I felt safe with him and was able to explore and become an actor.
But we barely knew each other at that point!
I said that maybe its because we both have enormous eyebrows.
One time he had to grab me by my hair and drag me across the room using a harness.
But the harness broke.
Youre dragging me by my hair and youre going to be okay with it.
He said, I cant do that.
And I said, Yes, it’s possible for you to.
And we did it.
Ill kick you in the nuts as a signal if it’s crucial that you get off me.
And he was like, I cant.
And I said, Then dont, fine.
Youre saying it was all faked?Well, the punch is a fake.
But you cant fake choking because they have a camera right on your face.
The 50-year-old version of myself might not do that.
But I loved that scene.
We needed her to go out with a bang, and we owe her that much.
Stevie backed me, but Im not sure about Michael.
When we do see the reality, Adriana is riding shotgun with Silvio and in tears.
She could have gone straight to Tony Soprano from the beginning and they could have played the feds together.
Thats what his kids would have done.
But she wasnt savvy like that or some grand manipulator.
But Christopher also shouldnt have been so impulsive and thought it through a little bit!
Stevie understood that in the end, but boy, he didnt want to do it at all!
They did care about me, but a lot had to do with seeing the character go.
Everyone knew this was going to change the trajectory of the show.
These antiheroes that youve loved for so many years?
Youre really going to see them for the monsters that they are.
Subscribing to that school of thought was key to understanding the show.
Well, I got a pinball machine and lots of flowers.
Maybe because Im a woman, I dont know.
To be honest, dinner with David Chase and all the dudes?
Like, it would be uncomfortable for all of us.
I was so fucking shy that it was like pulling teeth even getting me to the read-throughs.
Was it weird to watch the rest of the series unfold?
Christopher ends up marrying and having a baby.It was weird.
Like,Oh, this new woman gets to have a baby?I couldnt have a baby!
But when Tony kills him after a car crash, I saw it as karma.
What are your thoughts on Adrianas legacy?
And that accent was the most fun.
I even asked David Chase if I could just say Chrissy instead.
But now when I sign autographs, I sign Christopher with like 80hs at the end.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
