Steven Van Zandt on playing another mobster

(CBS News) It seems fans of Steven Van Zandt recognize him more for his role as Silvo Dante on "The Sopranos" than for his decades playing with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

Now, Van Zandt is playing another mobster on the Netflix original series, "Lilyhammer." He plays ex-gangster Frank Tagliano also known as Giovanni Hendrickson, who enters the witness protection program and must move to Norway.

"I was not expecting to play another mobster," Van Zandt said. "But once in a while...you have to take an adventure and get away from the daily grind of being a rock star...Go somewhere where you're really pampered."

Van Zandt is hardly leaving his rock 'n' roll life behind for acting. "Little Steven" has been busy rehearsing for the upcoming Springsteen tour, which kicks off on March 18th. This tour marks the first time the band will tour since saxophonist Clarence Clemons passed away in June 2011.

"You know, it's tough," Van Zandt said about performing without Clemons and band member Danny Federici, who died in 2008. "All you can do is consider it a tribute to their work and carry on their work and do the best you can. It's never going to be the same. You don't replace people like that."

Van Zandt's "Lilyhammer," Netflix's first original series, began streaming Feb. 6, and all eight episodes are now available.

To watch the full interview with Steven Van Zandt, watch the video in the player above.