Chris Rock turned down multiple offers to join The Sopranos out of ‘respect’

Rock was an established name at HBO by the time The Sopranos debuted

Chris Rock has revealed he turned down multiple offers to join The Sopranos.

The comedian was an early star for HBO, featuring in three comedy specials between 1994 and 1999 (Big Ass Jokes, Bring the Pain and Bigger & Blacker).

He also launched a late-night talk show – titled The Chris Rock Show – in 1997, which ran for five seasons until November 2000.

By the time David Chase’s critically acclaimed mob drama debuted in 1999, Rock was an established name on HBO.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 56-year-old revealed that he had declined “a couple of offers” to appear on The Sopranos out of “respect”.

“Sometimes you can respect something so much, you don’t even want to be a part of it,” said Rock.

“Years ago, when I had my own show on HBO, it was at the height of The Sopranos and I got a couple of offers to be on The Sopranos and I was like, ‘I like it too much, I don’t want to spoil it.’”

(Getty Images / HBO)

The comedian recently starred in the fourth season of the FX anthology series Fargo, a TV adaptation of the acclaimed 1996 Coen Brothers film.

Rock can currently be seen acting opposite Samuel L Jackson in the newly released Saw sequel, Spiral.

You can read The Independent’s two-star review of the horror film here.