They really "beat" people on The Sopranos. Last week, while filming on the set of the HBO series, the young actor got a taste of what it would be like to be a real gangster when an accident threatened to take his sight. Vinny Orofino, an actor who is usually a member of the show's crew, filmed the scene on location in New Jersey.
His character, Brian Spatafore, was supposed to get hit in the head with a hockey stick. Of course, the crew had a prosthetic head on hand that would allow close-ups to show what a head might look like after being hit with a baton. Leading the baton is actor Brian Tarantina, who plays Mustang Sally.
Source: New York Daily News