Sopranos star’s threat to quit over pay

SOPRANOS star James Gandolfini is threatening to pull out of the hit show unless his pay is nearly doubled, it was reported yesterday.

The actor, who plays mobster Tony Soprano, has begun legal proceedings against US network HBO to get out of his contract before filming starts on a fifth series later this month.

He wants his pay raised from $400,000 to over $750,000 per episode, according to the New York Daily News.

“It is our position that there is no legal obligation for James Gandolfini to perform his services for this season,” his lawyer Martin Singer said. An HBO spokeswoman said: “This is nothing more than a further renegotiation tactic by an actor with a binding contract.”

Gandolfini’s current fee is well below the $1 million an episode paid to the Friends cast or the $1.6m Kelsey Grammer gets for his starring role in Frasier.