An HBO Crime Drama Saw Robert De Niro Replace James Gandolfini — Then Lose The Role Himself

In 2016, HBO released "The Night Of," a crime drama miniseries that starred Riz Ahmed and John Turturro in two of the best roles in their respective careers. At one point, however, James Gandolfini was set to star opposite Ahmed before he passed away and was replaced — not by John Turturro, but by Robert De Niro, who ultimately lost the role himself.

Ten years ago, a great travesty occurred when "The Night Of" debuted on HBO, won a bunch of Emmys, and was promptly forgotten about. The show remains one of the best HBO miniseries of all time yet is rarely talked about today. Why that is remains unclear, but the fact it was a one-season miniseries that arrived just as streaming services were submerging the mediasphere in a stodgy pool of "content" might have something to do with it. Either way, the eight-episode crime drama was excellent and deserves to be remembered.

Would that have been the same had Gandolfini or De Niro played defense attorney John Stone instead of Turturro? Perhaps, given the pair's talents (though De Niro was well into his "I'm just doing this for the paycheck" era by then). But Turturro — who earned an Emmy nomination for his performance — brought such a brilliant energy to Stone, rendering him as simultaneously jaded and hopeful. It's therefore hard to imagine anyone else in the role, but that's almost what happened... twice.

"The Night Of" was too brief to earn a spot on the best HBO shows of all-time list but had it continued past one season and maintained its quality, it would easily make it into the rankings. In the show, Riz Ahmed plays Pakistani-American college student Nasir Khan, who's accused of murdering a woman in New York City. He's then sent on a harrowing journey through the legal system, during which he finds himself incarcerated in the infamous Rikers Island. John Turturro plays his lawyer, John Stone, who's initially mysterious in the sense we don't know if this ambulance chaser is merely looking for a quick pay day or is, in fact, a deeply moral man amid an immoral system who can't help but stand up for the little guy.

Prior to Turturro's casting, James Gandolfini had been confirmed for the role of Stone. The "Sopranos" star's casting was announced in 2012 shortly before his death in June of 2013. In September of that year Deadline reported that Robert De Niro would replace Gandolfini in the project then known as "Criminal Justice." At the time, the outlet claimed that HBO and co-creator Steven Zaillian only wanted De Niro and nobody else for the part. Then he dropped out. In April 2014, Deadline reported on the latest casting change, announcing that Turturro had been brought in to replace De Niro, who left the project due to "scheduling reasons." What exactly those scheduling issues were remains unclear but at the time De Niro was gearing up to shoot Nancy Myers' "The Intern." Unfortunately, that project represents one of many roles De Niro probably should have turned down. Fortunately for us, we got one of Turturro's best performances.