HBO apparently paid James Gandolfini $3 million to not replace Steve Carell on 'The Office'

The Sopranos aired its last episode on June 10, 2007.

Steve Carell departed The Office on April 28, 2011.

Still, HBO wasn't keen on James Gandolfini, who portrayed Tony Soprano at the center of the iconic mob drama, replacing Carell.

"I think before James Spader and after Carell, they offered Jim, I want to say $4 million to play him for the season—and HBO paid him $3 million not to do it," Steve Schirripa revealed during the latest episode of the Talking Sopranos podcast he co-hosts with Michael Imperioli. "That's a fact."

The revelation came after Imperioli let slip that the powers that be behind The Office "talked about" Gandolfini replacing Carell, which their guest, Ricky Gervais, hadn't known. 

Schirripa added that Gandolfini "was gonna do it 'cause he hadn't worked, and it was a number of years removed" from The Sopranos, which ran for six seasons from 1999-2007 and collected 21 Primetime Emmys.

"They paid him that to keep the legacy of The Sopranos pure?" Gervais asked, to which Schirripa replied, "Well, I guess that, and also, he had a deal with [HBO]. He was doing The Night Of; he was developing that."

This exchange began around the 39-minute mark of the nearly two-and-a-half-hour episode, with Schirripa asking Gervais if he liked the American version of The Office. The series originated in the U.K. with Gervais as the main character (David Brent) from 2001-03.

Gervais said he did and "thought it got better and better," before adding this nugget: "Before we cast, they said, 'Why don't you play the main character?' And I said, 'Well, that's mental. What's the point of that? I've done mine. This has got to be made by Americans for Americans. That's the point.' ... So I'm very grateful for Steve Carell, every day, that he put his life on hold for seven years."

The Office continued for two more seasons after Carell's "Goodbye, Michael" episode, wrapping the mockumentary sitcom's nine-season run in May 2013.

Imperioli and Schirripa starred on The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti and Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri, respectively. Last September, they signed a book deal with HarperCollins imprint William Morrow to wrote a The Sopranos oral history.

Gandolfini passed away at 51 in June 2013 from a heart attack. His son, Michael Gandolfini, will play a younger Tony Soprano in the forthcoming Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, due in theaters and on HBO Max beginning Oct. 1. Watch the trailer below.