THE FINAL ACT: James Gandolfini (1961–2013) Born James Joseph Gandolfini, Jr. in Westwood, New Jersey; Gandolfini began acting in the New York theater. His Broadway debut was in the 1992 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire with Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin. James breakthrough role was his portrayal of Virgil the hitman in Tony Scotts True Romance, but the role that brought him worldwide fame and accolades was as complex mob boss Tony from The Sopranos (1999). Gandolfini graduated from Park Ridge High School, Park Ridge, New Jersey (1979). He attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Gandolfini played the trumpet and saxophone. Although he often played thuggish or brute characters, he was actually somewhat of a pacifist off-stage; he had reservations about continuing his production contract as Tony in The Sopranos (1999) due to the shows violent content and stereotype of Italian-Americans. Gandolfini lost more than 40 pounds for his role in The Mexican (2001), but had to gain it all back before shooting for the HBO series The Sopranos (1999) because executives didnt believe the audience would like a skinny Tony. In Crimson Tide (1995), James refers to Robert Mitchum and Cary Grant, two actors he also references in The Sopranos (1999). Also, in Crimson Tide (1995) he played an officer on the U.S.S. Alabama. In True Romance (1993), he beats up a woman named Alabama, played by Patricia Arquette. Both films were directed by Tony Scott. He co-starred with John Travolta in five movies: Get Shorty (1995), Shes So Lovely (1997), A Civil Action (1998), Lonely Hearts (2006), The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009). Had often said Robert De Niro played a considerable role in his decision to become an actor, since Gandolfini had grown up watching Mean Streets (1973) over and over again. Fittingly, in 2013, HBO announced that De Niro had been chosen to replace Gandolfini in the TV lawyers role he had signed to play--the lead of the drama mini-series Criminal Justice. Its slated for production in time to premiere in summer 2014. Gandolfini played Aida Turturros father in Romance & Cigarettes (2005) and her brother in The Sopranos (1999). Became close friends with his The Sopranos (1999) co-star, Lorraine Bracco, during the filming of the HBO series. During her close ups, in their scenes together, he would moon her to try and put her off. This was confirmed during his interview on Inside the Actors Studio (1994). He was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance for a Leading Actor in a Play for God of Carnage. Gandolfini was known to be a shy man, uncomfortable being a celebrity. He co-starred with Denzel Washington in three movies: Crimson Tide (1995), Fallen (1998) and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009). Gandolfini appears in four films directed by Tony Scott: Crimson Tide (1995), The Last Boy Scout (1991), True Romance (1993) and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009). He first became interested in acting after attending an acting class with a friend, and subsequently studied the Meisner technique under Kathryn Gately for two years. On an episode of Inside the Actors Studio, he mentioned banging his head against a wall, getting very little sleep, and putting a pointy rock in his shoe as techniques to get really angry while shooting The Sopranos (1999).
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 18:10:37 +0000
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