NEW YORK, May 24 (UPI) -- Frankie Valli has joined the hit series "The Sopranos," as a mobster, a role the musical icon said is familiar because of his Newark, N.J., upbringing.
Valli, lead singer of The Four Seasons, will play Rusty Millio, a recurring character recently out of jail and looking to re-establish himself with an insurgent crew, the New York Post reported Monday.
"I grew up in a relatively poor environment," Valli said. "I know everything from crap games on the street, to loan sharks, to bookmakers and numbers takers." So the world of 'The Sopranos' isn't new."
Valli first auditioned for the series four years ago.
"David Chase (the show's creator) liked my reading, but he didn't think the part was right for me," Valli said of his first audition. "When he said he'd write a part or look for a part for me, I thought he was just being a nice guy."