Paulie Walnuts - maybe not so fictional after all

Paulie, a.k.a. Paulie Walnuts, was one of my favorite characters on The Sopranos. He was menacing and horrifically violent, yet humorous and endearing at the same time.

Turns out, Tony Sirico might not have been acting that much after all when he played Paulie. Sirico was a genuine dyed-in-the-wool hood way back when, who made a living out of extortion.

Here's some quotes attributed to Sirico (from the smoking gun article linked below):

"You hit them over the head with a baseball bat, and they come around."

"I'm going to come back here and carve my initials in your forehead. You better learn a lesson, you better show me the respect I deserve."

Sounds like Paulie Walnuts to me.

Paulie Walnuts for real