Were you disappointed Phil didn’t get to take out Tony? No. I didn’t want Phil to die, but I figured he was going to. Tony is a very important character, so I assumed he wouldn’t die.
Yours is the kind of death scene for which you have to prepare your friends and family. I didn’t tell anyone except my wife. I had to spend a whole day in makeup to make the prosthetic head. They made almost a dozen heads.
What a bizarre way to die. Yeah, it was interesting because a lot of references were made during the season to Phil’s gray hair. Lots of subtle references to his head. David [Chase] is a genius.
Did seeing it gross you out? Yeah. I didn’t know there would be all those reaction shots. The kids throwing up—that was pretty gross. But it’s just a film trick. There’s only so much they can show of my head being squashed because my head is not actually being squashed.
Right, because I’m talking to you now. Absolutely. But it wasn’t easy. I had to lie down in front of the car and we had to chain the car so it could only go a certain distance. It had to come very close to my head, but then the dummy went in.
That must have been nerve-racking. It was tense. It’s not something you do every day.
Everybody has a theory about the final scene. What’s yours? I [don’t] think Tony died. I think they rode into the sunset. That way there can be a sequel.
