Remembering ‘Sopranos’ Star James Gandolfini 10 Years After His Death
Regardless of what he did before and after in his career, James Gandolfini forever solidified himself in the minds of millions with his iconic role as troubled crime boss Tony Soprano in HBO’s The Sopranos (1999-2007), one of the most acclaimed dramas in TV history. Gandolfini received six Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy nominations for his role as Tony, winning three times. Gandolfini’s other television work was primarily as a producer, most notably for the 2007 special Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq, a documentary for which Gandolfini received another Emmy nomination. In the feature film realm, Gandolfini had several roles over the decades, though none of them had the impact that his Sopranos role had. Among his notable movie roles were appearances in True Romance (1993), Get Shorty (1995) The Mexican (2001), The Last Castle (2001), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and the posthumously released romantic comedy Enough Said (2013).
For six seasons, Gandolfini played New Jersey mafia boss Tony Soprano, winning three Emmy Awards for best actor in a drama series. Our sister publication Channel GuideMagazine interviewed Gandolfini for the series finale in 2007, he shared the following on his career-defining character.
If you could write the final episode…
I would give closure to Tony by having him whacked and fed to the ducks.
Fondest memory on the set…
From the first episode, Michael Imperioli trying to drive while we were shooting the sidewalk car chase scene. He ended up getting into two different fender benders on the that same day. [Imperioli did not know how to drive at the time, a common thing for many New Yorkers.]
Favorite episode…
The ones with Nancy Marchand [Livia] in them.
Now that The Sopranos is officially over, I will never…
Put on another bathrobe.
The Mob Issue
February 2020
Best Movie & TV gangland classics of all time, and also explores the true stories behind some of history’s most famous mobsters.
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