Why Goodie From Tulsa King Looks So Familiar
One of the more underrated characters from "Tulsa King" is Goodie Carangi. The Taylor Sheridan-created series centers on Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone), a New York mobster exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, after over 20 years in prison.
"Tulsa King" is a fish-out-of-water story, but one of the show's best aspects is seeing Manfredi build a modern, diverse crew of outcasts in Tulsa as a mobster growing more detached from the world that sent him away. While Dwight is taking his corner of the criminal underworld in Tulsa, his actual mob family is falling apart, with leadership positions occupied by youngsters who have never done a stretch and are constantly itching to prove themselves. All except for Goodie.
The character appears in eight episodes in "Tulsa King" Season 1 and is first introduced as one of the few old-school guys around who remembers Manfredi in his prime and shows him the respect their code requires. At the end of the first season, Manfredi is visited by his New York City overlords, and he makes clear he's done with the mob. While dressing down his bosses, he turns to Goodie and informs him he's staying in Tulsa if he wants to keep his self-respect.
Goodie, one of Manfredi's few allies left from New York, is played by a veteran actor who fans have no doubt seen in some classic work, much of which is likely an influence on the similar "Tulsa King."
He was Billy Leotardo on The Sopranos
If you need any further proof that Taylor Sheridan knows how to put together a compelling show, look no further than "Tulsa King." Sheridan took on the world of the mob, and one of the first things he did was invite multiple creatives from "The Sopranos," arguably the quintessential creation when it comes to mob-based TV, including Goodie Carangi himself: Chris Caldovino.
In "The Sopranos," Caldovino portrayed Billy Leotardo, the younger brother of Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent), a man who becomes an adversary to Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his New Jersey crew. Caldovino was in nine episodes of "The Sopranos," but the character was a significant part of the plot even after his death. After Soprano's cousin Tony B (Steve Buscemi) kills Billy in an act of revenge, Phil demands justice and to carry out revenge himself.
Tony Soprano ends up killing his own cousin to save him from the hands of Phil. Even in the sixth and final season of "The Sopranos," Billy's presence loomed large. At a meeting with Soprano long after Billy's death, Phil loses it and declares all-out war when his brother's death is referenced with one of the show's most famous lines: "whatever happened there."
He worked for Martin Scorsese on The Wolf of Wall Street
Chris Caldovino briefly popped up in "The Wolf of Wall Street" as one of two Roccos hired by Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) at the height of the character's depravity. It's a humorous appearance where the actor uses his size to feed into the ridiculous zany story.
"The Wolf of Wall Street" was scripted by Terence Winter, one of the writers of "The Sopranos." Considering how many shoutouts Martin Scorsese got in "The Sopranos" (plus a brief cameo), it's quite a leap to be directed by the "Goodfellas" filmmaker. The script for "Wolf of Wall Street" was based on a book by the real-life Belfort and his journey from absurd wealth to prison.
Viewers may recall Caldovino in the famous scene where Leonardo DiCaprio desperately crawls to Margot Robbie's Naomi Lapaglia. The scene ends with the realization that the Roccos are seeing a bit more than they should through a nanny camera in a stuffed bear.
The movie wasn't the first time he'd worked with Scorsese, though, as he also had a run on a popular mafia series produced by the legendary director.
He portrayed Tonino Sandrelli on Boardwalk Empire
Chris Caldovino portrayed Tonino Sandrelli, a gangster who traded loyalties a couple of times throughout HBO's "Boardwalk Empire." The character is first introduced as the right hand of Giuseppe Rosetti (Bobby Cannavale), but he goes on to survive his boss. Caldovino appeared in 15 episodes of "Boardwalk Empire" in three of the show's five seasons.
The show marked a reunion for him with creator Terence Winter, a writer on "The Sopranos." Caldovino joined "Boardwalk Empire" in 2012, too, only a year before he popped up in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street." Scorsese directed the feature-length pilot of "Boardwalk Empire," and he served as an executive producer. According to Terence Winter, he actually originally convinced Caldovino to come out to Hollywood to give it a shot as an actor.
"I'm single-handedly responsible for eighteen more people moving out here. Some of whom are still doing and did it and working. One of my best friends in the world was an actor named Chris Caldovino, who has been on 'Sopranos,' 'Boardwalk Empire,' and a bunch of different TV shows. He's done it," Winter told the Reinvented podcast in 2022.
Caldovino joked in a 2022 interview with MovieJunk that he and Steve Buscemi shook and agreed Buscemi wouldn't kill him like he did in "The Sopranos," which, of course, didn't happen, another character falling victim to Nucky Thompson.