James Gandolfini, who became a TV icon with “The Sopranos”, died ten years ago. On the anniversary of his death, his colleagues paid tribute to his legacy.
Ten years ago, on June 19, 2013, James Gandolfini died of a heart attack in Rome. The actor, who became a TV icon with ‘The Sopranos’, was only 51 years old. Colleagues from the mafia cult series paid tribute to his legacy on the tenth anniversary of his death.
“Forever grateful”: “Robin” Michael Imperioli on his “Batman”
Michael Imperioli (57) his “favorite picture” with his “Soprano” co-star Gandolfini. It shows the two in the audience at an awards ceremony. Imperioli did not reveal exactly where and when it was recorded. He only hinted that Gandolfini had said something to him afterwards that must have had a profound impact on him. Exactly what, Imperioli also kept a low profile.
“Batman and Robin,” wrote Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti, protégé of Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano, on “The Sopranos.” “It’s so strange that today it’s been ten years since you left us,” continued the actor and screenwriter.
“I would have liked to have shot another scene or laughed again or chatted late at night,” Imperioli muses. He is “forever grateful that we worked so much together, that I spent so much time in your company and for all the generosity and kindness.”
Edie Falco was “jealous” of James Gandolfini’s hiring
Edie Falco (59), who embodies his wife Carmela in the “Sopranos”, remembered “” the unconventional acting style of her serial husband: “He didn’t let the things I let myself be bossed around – this mentality a model student”.
While she was meticulous about getting her lines right and getting them right, Gandolfini “followed something bigger.” “If he had an impulse to say something different or change position, he just did it,” said Edie Falco. “And I was jealous that he somehow got permission from himself to do something like that.”
Joe Pantoliano (71), who was on “The Sopranos” in only 23 episodes, also praised “Variety” for Gandolfini’s dealings with all colleagues – no matter how small their role was: “It’s very difficult for an actor to get into a into the series – many cast members only act two scenes in an episode. But he always tried to make everyone feel comfortable”.
“I miss you”: Touching post from Gandolfini’s son
James Gandolfini’s son Michael Gandolfini (24) also spoke up. On American Father’s Day on June 18, he posted a picture of him as a child with his father. “I love you,” he wrote, “yesterday, today and always. I miss you, I love you.”
Michael Gandolfini played the young Tony Soprano in the film prequel “The Many Saints of Newark”. This role made his father famous in 1999 – although he had already made a name for himself as a character actor before that. The son of Italian immigrants often played gangsters, for example in “True Romance” or “Schnappt Shorty”. But it was only as a mentally ailing mafia boss with family problems that he experienced his breakthrough. “The Sopranos” is considered the start of the series boom that continues to this day, Gandolfini as one of the best TV mimes of all time.
Source: Stern
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