Steve Schirripa of “The Sopranos” partnered with FreshPet for a mafia-inspired commercial starring the actor. Schirripa played the hapless character Bobby Baccalieri in the HBO drama.
The 67-year-old actor also played Detective Anthony Abetemarco on “Blue Bloods,” but his new FreshPet commercial focuses on his days as a New Jersey mobster.
The new commercial starring Steve Schirripa will air on Netflix during Christmas Day NFL games.
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Steve Schirri stars in FreshPet commercial
The cute commercial shows Steve Schirripa playing cards with several “made” guys when one of the men returns with a package that needs to be refrigerated.
When the man asks why there is dog food inside the refrigerator, Schirripa responds: “That’s not dog food. It’s FreshPet. Real meat. Real vegetables. For my son, Junior.”
“No disrespect,” the man responds. “But, uh, what are we doing here?”
The room falls silent as everyone looks at the man. The next scene shows a trunk being closed on the man as Schirripa and Junior watch. “If anyone asks, we were at Grandma’s house,” Schirripa tells Junior.
Schirripa said PEOPLE that FreshPet contacted him after learning that he was feeding it to his dog, Willieboy.
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“I have a dog, Willieboy, who has been eating FreshPet for the last few years,” he said. “They sent me the script and after playing the detective for the last nine years, it was fun to get back into that old ‘Sopranos’ mode.”
“I thought it was a very clever commercial, very witty and very funny,” he added.
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Steve Schirripa shared an old Christmas clip from ‘The Sopranos’
Steve Schirripa also shared an old clip from “The Sopranos” on Instagram on December 23. The clip shows Paulie (played by Tony Sirico) telling Bobby that he had to play Santa Claus for the neighborhood kids. “Last Christmas” Zam! plays in the background.
The funny scene features a reluctant Bobby as he hands out Christmas gifts to the children.
“Do you want to play Santa Claus at this year’s party?” Paulie asks.
“No. I can’t do that,” Bobby replies. “Yes, you can,” Paulie replies. After Bobby again says that he can’t play Santa Claus because he’s shy, Paulie responds, “The head of this family told you that you’re going to be Santa Claus. You’re Santa Claus, so shut your mouth.” .
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After Bobby yells at a little boy for trying to sit on Santa’s lap a second time and “won’t get anything done,” the boy responds, “Fuck you, Santa,” causing the adults in the room to exclaim: “Oh! “
Bobby died during the final season of ‘The Sopranos’ after being shot to death while looking at trains in a toy store.
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Willieboy joined Schirripa on the set of ‘Blue Bloods’
Schirripa also told the outlet that he loves his dog, Willieboy, “unconditionally” and as much as he loves his two children. “I have two daughters and it’s amazing that you can have feelings for an animal,” she said. “He’s like part of my family.”
The “Blue Blood” actor played Detective Anthony Abetemarco on the police drama for nine seasons before it came to an end earlier this month, and Schirripa shared photos with his fans on Instagram after bringing Willieboy to the set.
The post read: “Anthony Abetemarco needed some direction on the set of @bluebloods_cbs today, and Willieboy came to the rescue!” Willieboy is even seen watching his father perform in an adorable shot.
Schirripa jokes that his daughters are jealous of Willieboy
Schirripa and his wife, Laura, take Willieboy everywhere, even when they are on vacation. The “Sopranos” actor also joked that his two daughters, Bria and Ciara, occasionally get jealous of the dachshund.
“He’s like my son, I worry about him,” she admitted. “I think sometimes my daughters get jealous…My wife and I are empty nesters and Willie is the center of attention, and he brings us a lot of joy and a lot of laughter.”
Schirripa shared several photos from his family vacation in 2022, and Willieboy was front and center.
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Steve Schirripa walked his daughter down the aisle at a wedding in New York
Schirripa walked her daughter, Ciara, down the aisle at their 2023 wedding in New York City. He also walked his daughter, Bria, down the aisle in 2021, according to PEOPLE.
The proud father noted that Ciara and her husband, Zach, were college sweethearts who met at the University of Delaware in 2014.
“We all planned the wedding together. Zach has been with Ciara for seven years (they are college sweethearts) and is already part of the family,” Schirripa said. “It was a great party and, of course, very emotional, because it is my youngest daughter. Now my wife Laura and I are real empty nesters.”
