In the new Paramount+ series Tulsa King, by creators Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone) and Terence Winter (The Sopranos), Sylvester Stallone makes his series debut as Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a mafia capo just recently released from 25 years in prison. The series takes the mafia south, with a Western spin, when Manfredi’s family essentially exiles him to Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, The General is meant to establish a mob presence in the unclaimed territories, and to form alliances among the locals. In the series, The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire alum Vincent Piazza reunites with Winter as Vince Antonacci, a henchman to the Invernizzi family, and A.C. Peterson is the family’s former head, Don Charles Invernizzi.

During their interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Piazza and Peterson share what they believe Yellowstone creator Sheridan’s secret is to thrilling audiences, and talk about the series “exploring the human condition.” They also reveal details about their characters in relation to Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi, and discuss how filming in more remote locations affected the cast and crew’s relationships. You can watch the interview in the video above, or read the full transcript below.

COLLIDER: It's great to see you. I've seen the first two episodes, and cannot wait to watch the rest. I'm curious for both of you, everything that Taylor Sheridan touches turns into a huge hit. What do you think it is about his writing and his world? I know this was done with Terence Winter, but what is it about his work that resonates with so many people?

VINCENT PIAZZA: It's a great question. I mean it's enigmatic almost for me, from my stance. At a time when we're completely deconstructing what television is, it's streaming, [and] no two people are watching the same thing these days. He has this incredible ability to create and galvanize an audience. It's remarkable. I guess if people knew the secret sauce, there'd be more people doing it, but there aren't. He's got an incredibly hot hand.

A.C. PETERSON: It's about authenticity. Authentically and believably exploring the mystery of the human condition. Not everybody can do that. A lot of times things are a little “ehh,” but he's spot-on with that. So I think that's what draws audiences to his projects, the authenticity of exploring the human condition, the mystery of being a human being.

For both of you, no one has seen the show yet, so can you sort of talk about who you play and how you interact with Stallone?

PIAZZA: I guess I'll start. I played Vince Antonacci, who's a capo in the Invernizzi family, who is helmed by A.C. here, Pete Invernizzi. I see Vince as a product of inheritance. He's someone who has an incredible quality to spend time with the boss's son. He's a representative of the decline of what the mafia once was, and is taking his privilege with him.

His relationship with Stallone is very adversarial because Stallone, back in his day, was one of the people that carved out this racket that I have now inherited. And with him getting out of prison, it's a great risk to what I have. He could easily make a claim of title and territory, and that's a threat to me.

PETERSON: A monster. My character is a monster. He's powerful, he is manipulative, he's got an alligator smile, nice grin, but he'll eat you alive, and stab you in the back, and do anything he needs to do to control and maintain that power. A deceptive individual, [but] it seems like he's completely honest.

For soon-to-be fans of this show, what do you think would surprise people to learn about the actual making of the show behind the scenes?

PIAZZA: The biggest surprise behind making it is the love that the cast and crew really shared. I mean, all of us being away in this incredibly spare environment in some of the locations that we had to shoot, we really had each other. So there was a lot of time spent, extracurricular time, where I think we got to know each other. I think the surprise will be how much work was behind the work that ends up on screen.

PETERSON: And a lot of laughs. A lot of laughter.

PIAZZA: Yeah, that's right.

Tulsa King is streaming on Paramount+. You can check out our interview with Stallone below: