What about the guy that played John Gotti in GOTTI? I forget his name but I think it was something like "Armand". In any case, Gotti wasn't that great of a movie but the acting was on point for the fairly mediocre script they were given.

Maybe he should move away from NJ and focus on New York? It'd be way easier to show the rise of Carmine Lupertazzi for example, than trying to shoot a full on prequel to the Sopranos. I mean, even if you took it back to the days of Johnny Boy you'd have to recast roles like Paulie walnuts.