I think these scenes let you into Tony’s head, bringing him a little closer to the audience.”

“They were kind of like the ancient Greek chorus, which allowed the audience to experience what the character was experiencing. “I think those scenes made the show,” he once said. He was, like so many others, a working guy just trying to make a living for his family in a complicated world. Melfi, who helped Tony explore the anxiety, depression and damage underlying his mood swings and violence. Some of his most memorable interactions on the show were with his psychiatrist, Dr. Gandolfini was able to humanize an instinctively violent and not infrequently depraved character by devoting himself fully to the craft - practicing the Meisner method, he would often stay up late at night to deprive himself of sleep and find other ways to aggravate himself before shooting a particular scene. There is no hiding or sugar coating his brutal actions - they make up the bulk of his job - but he’s also sincerely focused on his wife Carmela, kids and mother, all of whom control his life in a way that mirrors the control he has out on the streets. Tony Soprano is a capo, or enforcer, of the DiMeo crime family in New Jersey. The Sopranos hit the airwaves in 1999 and revived a mobster drama genre that had strayed since the heights of the first two Godfather movies. The cast of 'The Sopranos': (L-R) Tony Sirico, Steve Van Zandt, James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore Photo: Getty Images Gandolfini often played tough guys and mobsters, which set him up for the role that would change his life and television altogether. Plenty of character roles followed over the next six years, including parts in True Romance, Crimson Tide, Get Shorty and The Juror. Gandolfini’s big break came nearly a decade later, in 1992, when he was cast in a Broadway production of Tennessee Williams’ classic drama A Streetcar Named Desire alongside co-stars Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange. Several years of intensive study came next, followed by roles in obscure off-Broadway shows made possible by working other jobs during the daytime. That could have been a viable career, but at 25, he went to an acting class with a friend and found himself enthralled with performing on the stage. He worked as a bouncer, bartender and nightclub manager he even started his own club called Private Eyes. I had more fun than somebody probably should have.” In New York, Gandolfini discovered his love for theaterĪfter graduating with a degree in English literature and communications in 1983, Gandolfini moved across the river to Manhattan, unsure of what he’d do next. I was around a lot of fun people and I had a ball. “Then I got there, and I thought, jeeze, 50,000 18-year-olds in one place – what the hell was I complaining about?” Gandolfini said. He didn’t often do interviews at the height of his fame, but during one of his conversations with a long-time Star-Ledger reporter, the actor fondly recalled being nervous about attending - and paying for - college before settling in at the school’s New Brunswick campus. When Gandolfini graduated from Park Ridge High School, he was voted one of two senior class flirts.Īfter high school, he attended Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey. He was both an athlete and theater kid, playing basketball in high school and starring in student productions such as Arsenic and Old Lace and Can-Can. Gandolfini was born to Italian immigrant parents in Westwood, New Jersey and grew up in the town of Park Ridge, both in Bergen County, just across the river from New York City. He was especially beloved in his home state of New Jersey, where The Sopranos was set and Gandolfini helped to bring new notoriety. Starring as beleaguered mob boss Tony Soprano in the drama The Sopranos, Gandolfini helped usher in the era of prestige television with a nuanced performance that transformed the tired mobster archetype into an empathetic, three-dimensional figure.

Gandolfini grew up in New Jersey decades before becoming one of its most iconic starsįor the better part of the 2000s, Gandolfini was one of the most decorated and beloved TV and film actors in the country. That the Emmy-winning actor died while on vacation in Italy was beside the point at the time, more a logistical and diplomatic pain than anything else, but it is nonetheless a noteworthy detail in his biography given his heritage and greatest accomplishments.

When James Gandolfini died of a heart attack on June 19, 2013, his sudden passing shocked and saddened the world.

James gandolfini