Friday, Sept. 13, 2002 | 9:11 a.m.
Robert De Niro plucked an aspiring actress with no experience out of a lineup of 2,500 and made her his co-star in 1993's "A Bronx Tale."
"Before that I was a closet actress," Katherine Narducci said during a telephone interview from a friend's residence in New York City. "I secretly went to auditions, to open calls. I was ashamed. Anytime I mentioned I wanted to be an actress, my friends were not that supportive."
Today she is a co-star of the HBO hit series "The Sopranos," playing the role of Charmaine Bucco, the nagging wife of restauranteur Artie Bucco.
To help promote the first episode of the fourth season, Narducci will host an exclusive premiere screening tonight at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay (the event is by invitation only). In addition to the screening, the evening will include special performances by the Bada Bing Dancers and the Willie Jaye Band as well as a Sopranos Look-A-Like contest.
Following a 15-month hiatus, the series begins at 9 p.m. Sunday. "The Sopranos" stars two-time Emmy winners James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, Edie Falco as Tony's wife Carmela, and Lorraine Bracco as therapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi.
While Narducci is relatively new to the acting profession, she has quickly learned how to use her celebrity status.
"I'm coming to Vegas for two things," she said. "The screening, and the Oscar De La Hoya (versus Fernando Vargas) fight. Being on 'The Sopranos' has its perks."
It hasn't been too long since "perk" wasn't in Narducci's vocabulary.
A single mother of two, the 37-year-old actress spent most of her life struggling while waiting tables.
All that changed in 1993 when she was a billing clerk for a fruit-and-vegetable market in Hunt's Point, N.Y., and De Niro was making his directing debut in a movie in which he also starred and co-produced.
"There was a blurb in the Daily News that there was going to be an open cattle call for someone to play De Niro's 9-year-old son in the movie," Narducci said.
Her son was 9 at the time, so she showed up at the audition -- along with 5,000 other hopefuls.
"While my son was auditioning in another room some women started coming in to audition for the part of DeNiro's wife," Narducci said. "I asked if I could try out and they said, 'Sure.' They told me to come back the next day and they would put me on tape."
Her son didn't get the part; she returned the next day for the audition taping and two days later De Niro chose her over actresses with experience.
"He said my natural instincts were incredible and he wanted that raw, natural talent to work off of," Narducci said.
While the movie was still being shot, she began receiving calls from agents. By the time the film was over she was a full-time actress.
"I got into acting classes," she said. "I didn't want to just go by luck."
Her film work includes "Two Family House" (2000) and "Witness to the Mob," a 1998 made-for-TV movie produced by De Niro.
Narducci has appeared in a number of television series, including "Law & Order" and "NYPD Blue."
But it is "The Sopranos" that has given her career the biggest boost since "A Bronx Tale."
"(Creator) David Chase is another angel in my life," Narducci said. "Besides being a wonderful writer and a genius, he is the most down-to-earth person. His eye for talent is amazing. I put him up there with DeNiro for instincts. The ensemble he has created is such a phenomenon."
She says her character is one of the few honest people in the show.
"I'm trying to stay honest and not get involved with the mob," she said. "I'm trying to keep my husband an honest man. He's attracted to the mob lifestyle, the glamour. I'm there to be the voice of reason, to keep the family together. I come off sometimes as a nag."
Narducci says she hopes to see her character grow.
"I would like to say 'I love you' instead of just yelling at him," she said. "I don't feel that is shown. But there is room to grow."
Narducci credits her mother with motivating her as a child.
"I was 7 years old and she would keep me up all night watching films with her," she said. "They were my best childhood memories. We would entertain each other -- she would dress me up after watching 'Funny Girl' or 'Bye Bye Birdie' and we would play games. She said, 'You've got to act.' She pushed me."
Her mother died shortly before "A Bronx Tale" was released.
"Maybe she's watching me from heaven," Narducci said.
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