He was only around 18 when filming started, and which covid interrupted, delaying release; and yes, he was the privileged son of a big celebrity and probably sheltered—until his father died in front of his face, leaving him alone in a foreign country, when he was 14.
I would think the decision even to resurrect an award-winning characterization brought to life by his recently-deceased father would have been emotionally daunting for someone twice Michael's age. And he revealed that he had never even watched The Sopranos until the possibility of playing the role came up; so he had to start from scratch. Apparently his father and mother did care enough to shelter him from forming a fascination with mob life or violence portrayed by his own father. I salute them for that.
More or less by accident, I lived for a number of years amongst mafiosi and a mob war, long enough to see innocent little children brought up around it, eventually get sucked into it, and in several cases end up in jail or dead because of that life. The theatricality of the Italian mob makes it seem like make-believe, until it isn't. The theatrical brutality is also exquisitely horrible.
Thanks for taking the time to provide such insightful commentary and context!