Cleaver (The Sopranos) Moltisanti became disillusioned and slipped into a depression, throwing away his work. He later had an affair with studio vice-president Amy Safir in "D-Girl" (2x07); through her he met "Swingers" and "Made" scribe Jon Favreau, with whom he discussed his film concept. When they decide on the movie title Cleaver, Christopher mentions to Tony that the estate of Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver have filed a motion to put a hold on production because of the name association. This is never brought up again in the series and the title does not change. In "Kaisha" (6x12), he discussed the
The Sopranos performances or not. Michael Imperioli, who beat out several actors for the part of Christopher Moltisanti, recalls "He's got a poker face, so I thought he wasn't into me, and he kept giving me notes and having me try it again, which often is a sign that you're not doing it right. I thought, I'm not getting this. So he said, 'Thank you,' and I left. I didn't expect to hear back. And then they called." Chase also said he wanted Imperioli because he had been in "Goodfellas." James Gandolfini was invited to audition for the part of Tony Soprano