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 .
speaking to huffington post live , bracco explained how she convinced chase to change his mind .