Jamie-Lynn Sigler Says Her Sopranos Brother Robert Iler is Her 'Best Friend': 'He's My Kids' Uncle Rob' (Exclusive)

For Jamie-Lynn Sigler, The Sopranos was a life experience that not only changed the course of her career but also sparked a long-lasting friendship with costar Robert Iler.

The actress, who played Meadow Soprano for six seasons on the HBO mob drama, developed an on- and off-screen brotherly bond with Iler, who played younger Soprano kid A.J. Twenty-five years after the show's premiere in 1999, the pair remain extremely close, with Iler playing a big role in the lives of Sigler’s two sons Beau, 10, and Jack, 5.

“Robert is my best friend. He's my kid's Uncle Rob,” Sigler tells PEOPLE. “He spends Thanksgiving and Christmas with me and my family every single year. He followed me to Austin and moved there.”

“We've been through something really unique,” she adds. “Rob always says that one of his favorite quotes that he ever heard from somebody was just like, ‘Keep the important people close and don't let them go.’ And he's always felt that with me, which I appreciate, and I feel that with him, as well.”

Sigler, 42, and Iler, 38, briefly reunited on screen in 2022, reprising their Sopranos roles for a 60-second Super Bowl commercial overseen by creator David Chase. They've also co-hosted the podcast Not Today, Pal with Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler, with candid conversations ranging from Iler losing his virginity, celebrity crushes and, of course, their time on The Sopranos.

“We have a unique chemistry and bond that just goes beyond Meadow and A.J., and it's just really fun to continue to work together in a different capacity,” she says. “It's really incredible that the show, like we were saying before, still means something to so many people, but that we can still find ways to work together beyond just catching up or spending holidays.”

The Sopranos wasn’t just a formative acting experience for Sigler, who was 16 when she auditioned — it also introduced her to a cast that became a chosen family that knew how to unwind when the cameras weren’t rolling.

After filming a dinner scene at New York City’s Old Homestead Steakhouse for season 5, episode 9, entitled “Unidentified Black Male,” several cast members, including Sigler, Iler, James Gandolfini and Will Janowitz, who played Meadow’s boyfriend, went clubbing.

“When we wrapped filming, Jim said to Robert and I, ‘So what do you guys do on a night like this?’ And we're like, ‘Oh, we're going to go to our friend's club. It's called Suede,’” Sigler recalls. “He said, ‘Well, I want to come,’ and we said, ‘Well, OK, let's go.’ The next thing [we know], Jim had ordered us a limo, and we all went out to a club with him dancing. It was a blast.”

Iler aside, Sigler stays in touch with many of her former castmates, including Edie Falco, Aida Turturro, Michael Imperioli and Drea de Matteo. Turturro and Sigler, for instance, reunited in January 2023.

"Had a little visit from a soulmate today," she wrote on Instagram of the get-together.

Sigler explains of the cast's enduring bond, “If anything sort of translated from The Sopranos family to the real-life people playing them, it was that everybody had your back. Everybody showed up to everybody's events. Everybody showed up to everybody's charities, premieres and also through the hard stuff.”

“If somebody's family member passed away, we were all at that funeral. If somebody was going through a rough time, everybody showed up,” she adds. “It truly was a beautiful group of people.”

For more on The Sopranos, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here. 

The Sopranos is available to stream on Max.