Sopranos star says James Gandolfini was paid $3 million to turn down replacing Steve Carell on The Office

The famous Office line "I want people to be afraid of how much they love me" takes on a different light when you imagine The Sopranos' James Gandolfini as the one to utter it.

The idea's not far-fetched, it seems, as the late actor apparently was offered to replace boss Michael Scott as branch manager of Dunder Mifflin on The Office after Steve Carell left the NBC show in 2011. But apparently, HBO actually paid Gandolfini $3 million to turn down the role, according to one of the actor's Sopranos' costars.

That surprising tidbit was revealed during Monday's episode of Talking Sopranos, a podcast hosted by two of the series' stars, Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa.

The actors were speaking to Ricky Gervais, whose U.K. Office and character on the series inspired its American counterpart.

Related video: James Gandolfini's widow on his son as a young Tony Soprano

Schirripa, who played Tony Soprano's (Gandolfini) brother-in-law Bobby Baccalieri in the mob drama, said, "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. That's a fact."