Lorraine Bracco has revealed that The Sopranos creator David Chase wanted her to play the role of Tony 's wife Carmela and not Dr. Jennifer Melfi , his psychiatrist . The Oscar nominated actress , 60 , revealed she turned down the starring role alongside James Gandolfini in the landmark HBO drama because she had already played a mobster 's wife in Goodfellas , nine years previously . Accusing Chase of lazy casting , Bracco chose instead the complicated role of Dr. Melfi , who provided the therapy that allowed New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano to justify many of his monstrous acts . Scroll down for video . Revelation : Lorraine Bracco said that she was first approached to play the role of Carmela in The Sopranos and not Dr. Jennifer Melfi . Speaking to Huffington Post Live , Bracco explained how she convinced Chase to change his mind . ' I fell in love with David ( Chase ) the minute I met him , when I walked into the room . ' I said , ' I like this guy . And I said , 'Look , I do n't think I should play Carmela because I did it , I did it in a Scorsese movie , I got an Oscar nomination . ' I really do n't think I 'm going to bring so much to this for you that I have n't done already , ' she told HuffPost Live on Monday . What could have been : Lorraine Bracco wanted to play Dr. Jennifer Melfi ( left ) but was originally asked by show creator David Chase to play Carmela Soprano . He cast Edie Falco ( right ) instead . Oscar nominated : Lorraine Bracco starred opposite Ray Liotta in Goodfellas in 1990 . The Martin Scorsese mob drama is recognized as one of the greatest movies in that genre . Obviously not wanting to count herself out of what became arguably the best television drama ever made , Bracco asked to play the character of Dr. Melfi instead . ' I said , 'But I really love this script , and I want to play Mefli . ' ... And he agreed with me that I 'd done it already and it was n't really incredible creative casting for him . He said , 'You want to play Melfi ? ' And I said , 'Yeah , I want to play Mefli '' So I left on that , and he gave it to me . ' Speaking about the untimely death of James Gandolfini in 2013 , Bracco said his passing was devastating and a wake up call . 'Well yea . My parents died nine days apart and then later Jimmy passed and Jimmy is a decade younger than me , ' said Bracco to HuffPost Live . Soprano 's stars : Edie Falco , James Gandolfini and Lorraine Bracco at the launch of the show 's fifth season in New York City in 2005 . ' I always teased him , 'You got ta get rid of that belly ' and he would say , 'Oh , it 's pure muscle ! ' said Bracco . 'But yea , it ( his death ) was devastating . Young man , talented , at the peak of his career . The peak of his life with a beautiful wife and and baby and his son Michael . 'Greatest guy ever . Loving , caring , sweet , funny , jokester '
Lorraine ##fi was chosen by The Sopranos ##cope to be cast . The actress turned him down because she played a doctor 's daughter in Martin ##o 's Goodfellas in 1983 . Convinced showrunner David Chase to let her play the role of Dr. Jennifer Melfi .