Edie Falco plays Pete Davidson's mom on TV. She 'can only imagine' what it's like IRL (2024)

A veteran of stage and screen for more than 30 years, it's easy to assume that there's not much Edie Falco hasn't done.

But according to the "Sopranos" actor, her latest role as Pete Davidson's mom in the new comedy series, "Bupkis," has her wading into uncharted territory.

“Being the mother of a son who is as widely known as he is, is certainly way out of my wheelhouse,” Falco tells TODAY.com in a sit-down interview.

"I can only imagine what it must be like to be his real mom. I mean, she really manages it so well."

Premiering on May 4, the new Peaco*ck series is a semi-autobiographical look at Davidson's life and how the former SNL star (whose famous exes include Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian), navigates the often-tricky business of being an A-lister while living in his mom's Staten Island basem*nt.

Where fact and fiction blur in the new series is anyone's guess (and you'll most definitely wonder), but it boasts a high-profile cast and a string of notable guest stars including Steve Buscemi, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, John Mulaney and former vice president Al Gore, among others.

"Pete is a magnetic guy," Falco says of 29-year-old Davidson, explaining that it's his charisma that's enticed so many high-profile actors to sign onto the project, including "Home Alone" actor Joe Pesci, who came out of retirement to play Davidson's often-unfiltered grandfather.

"He's an appealing kid," she explains. "You kind of want to join in whatever he's doing."

The "mom" role is nothing new to Falco, whose portrayal of mob-boss wife Carmela Soprano in "The Sopranos," garnered the actor three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes among dozens of other nominations.

Falco also portrayed a mother struggling with addiction in the Showtime series "Nurse Jackie," which earned the actor a fourth Emmy for her work.

Off-screen, Falco has two kids of her own, daughter Macy, 15, and son Anderson, 18. And while playing a mother on-screen has its challenges, she says being a parent in real life is far more difficult and explains why.

"My son is 18 and I think testosterone is the one answer I can give," Falco tells TODAY.com.

"There is a thrill-drive that I certainly didn't have at the age, that my daughter doesn't have ... driving fast. It seems like that's the stuff that makes these kids feel alive. It's terrifying for a mother," she says.

And when she sees them driving recklessly along the freeway, she uses it as a teaching moment.

"I slap my kid on the arm and point to the car. And he's like, "Why are you worried?' That's why," she says.

Reflecting on her own teenage years, Falco says she grew up in an artistic household with a mother who was an actor and a father who sculpted and painted when he wasn't listening to jazz.

"I never had anyone saying, 'Oh, get a career to fall back on. It was just what we did," she says.

If there had been a fallback career, however, Falco says she would have been a therapist. Instead, when a high school English teacher encouraged her to pursue the theater, Falco listened.

"She said, 'Go to acting school,'" says Falco. "It seemed like the most ridiculous thing in the world, but that’s what I did." She says her resulting life has been more "miraculous than anything I could have ever imagined for myself."

Of all the iconic roles she's played, Falco says that the one she'd like most to be remembered for surprisingly isn't Carmela, Jackie or any other of her more recognizable characters, but rather her performance as Terry Glimmer in a Broadway show from the '90s called "Side Man."

"It was the most fulfilling experience I had ever playing a role — no question," says Falco. "That's the part I'm most proud of, that I worked the hardest on."

Though she says only a "minuscule fraction" of people have seen the performance relative to the number who've watched her as Carmela, "it's still the part that is probably the most meaningful to me."

As far as returning to Broadway at some point in the future, Falco isn't opposed, but says it would have to be the right show.

"It's got to be something that I absolutely adore," she says. "So, we'll see."