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RACHEL IDZERA FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Starring in his very own TV series taught long-time second banana Steve Van Zandt, guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, an unexpected lesson: Being the boss is a pretty good gig. Season three of Lilyhammer (in which Van Zandt plays a crime boss hiding out in Norway) is now available on Netflix. Here the famous rocker-turned-actor shares some of the secrets of his success, including why denial is not always a bad thing.

Hitch your ego to the right star

My relationship with Bruce [Springsteen] is unique. I was always very happy being second-in-command. Before we got together, I was the leader of my band and Bruce was the leader of his. My band was just as big as his band and people were surprised, but I knew that he had something special and I felt that I could complement what he did. It's not that I have any less ego – believe me, I'm a complete egomaniac – it's just that my ego functions in a different way. I want to win, I want to achieve greatness. I chase it all the time, I seek it out and I support it when I find it, which is what happened with Bruce. And of course it's worked out pretty well. We just finished our most successful tour ever. We're bigger in Europe now than we've ever been – even than when Born in the USA came out. We just broke South Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand in these last two years. We went to those places as a new band and now we can go back and play arenas. I'm not sure how often we'll do it, but I expect to keep going out on tour with the E Street Band as far as the eye can see.

Being the boss ain't so bad

There are enormous advantages to being the star of a show. You wait around a lot less, which is important to me. I really don't like waiting around. I won't wait in the lobby for a meeting. I can't stand it. The great thing about being the lead in the show is that everybody's waiting for you. I enjoy controlling my destiny as much as I can. I like being one of the writers and producers. That's what I'll be doing in the future, I think. We all want to control our own destinies and I've gotten a bit spoiled with this show because I've gotten quite a bit of control. I'm still most naturally a behind-the-scenes guy, a band guy, an ensemble guy. That will always be my most comfortable natural instinct, but late in life I have learned the advantages of being in the spotlight. It occurred to me much later than most people, but it is good to be the boss.

You never know when the next chapter is coming

When David Chase called me and said, "I want you to be in my new TV show," which was The Sopranos, I said, "David, I'm honoured that you would ask me, but I'm not an actor." He said, "Yes you are." I guess people looked at the E Street Band as a rock 'n' roll Rat Pack. We're not nameless, faceless sidemen. Bruce has always made sure that we were front and centre, that we were characters that the audience got a chance to know. I'm sort of in the Dean Martin role and Clarence [Clemons] was a very inflated Sammy Davis Jr. It's a little bit theatrical. There's a bit of acting there that I guess David Chase sensed. I don't personally relate the two things too directly. For me, acting is a completely different experience. It's a whole new craft, which has been a wonderful gift at this stage of life, and really – what better acting school could one have gone to than 10 years on The Sopranos? The whole TV thing fits my ADD, which I had before it was fashionable. Things happen quickly and I like that.

The upside of denial

This may be a bit odd and I'm not even sure I would recommend this, but denial plays an important role in my life. With Jimmy [Sopranos star James Gandolfini, who died last year], after the show ended I would only see him a few times a year. We were both busy and it was tough to make our schedules meet up. So that's how I think about him now – as if our schedules just aren't coming together. I'm so busy most of the time and I don't dwell on these things. In the back of my mind it's not like he's gone, it's just that we haven't been able to meet up in a while. This is one case where I think denial can be a good thing. I go through life thinking one of these days we'll meet up again, and I hope one day we will. That's how I get by.

This interview has been condensed and edited by Courtney Shea.

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