Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with The Many Saints of Newark’s Mattea Conforti

Whether she’s captivating audiences on the stage in productions like Frozen or bringing dynamic characters to life in projects including NOS4A2, Mattea Conforti has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most exciting up-and-coming talents.

This fall, she steps into the shoes of an iconic Sopranos character in The Many Saints of Newark.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Mattea about the project!

PC: Tell us about The Many Saints of Newark and your character in the film.
Mattea: I play young Janice in The Many Saints of Newark. In my opinion, the film is the perfect bridge between the series and the movie. We get to see how these characters develop, mentally and physically, in ways that we didn’t see in the series. The movie gives a lot of insight, and I think the audience will really appreciate that.

PC: What was it about this character and script that stood out to you?
Mattea: When I first got the audition, I wasn’t given any information about what the project was! The sides used made-up names. At the time, I was in Frozen on Broadway, and I wasn’t getting a lot of auditions because I was locked in with Frozen. This was one of the few that I did get. I was like, “My run in Frozen is ending soon, let’s see what happens with this.” Then it ended up being The Sopranos.

PC: How did you celebrate landing the role?
Mattea: It was so long ago when I booked it, but they called me and they were like, “You’re going to play young Janice in The Sopranos!” My parents are really big fans of The Sopranos and they were like, “Oh my God. Do you know how big of a deal this is?” [laughs]

PC: That’s the perfect segue to this next question. Did you feel any pressure given how iconic this franchise is?
Mattea: If I felt any pressure, it was probably from my family. [laughs] They were like, “It’s The Sopranos! You’re young Janice. You have to do a good job.” [laughs] But I didn’t feel any pressure from anyone on set.

PC: When you’re playing a younger version of an established character, what is that preparation/research like?
Mattea: I had a dialect coach help me with the Jersey accent. My family is Italian and they grew up in some of the places featured in the film. The dialect helped a lot, but the costumes really help you get into character.

PC: With the film out now, what do you hope audiences take away after seeing it?
Mattea: I hope they understand The Sopranos storyline a little better. I hope they walk away knowing that family will always be there for you no matter what, even if the times are tough. You can always turn to family.

To keep up with Mattea, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch The Many Saints of Newark on HBO Max.

Photo Credit: Mary Kate Gutierrez