- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJames Joseph Gandolfini Jr.
- Nicknames
- Jim
- Jimmy
- Jim Gandolfini
- Height1.84 m
- James Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey, to Santa (Penna), a high school lunchlady, and James Joseph Gandolfini, Sr., a bricklayer and head school janitor. His parents were both of Italian origin. 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 Scott's True Romance (1993), but the role that brought him worldwide fame and accolades was as complex Mafia boss Tony Soprano in the HBO series Les Soprano (1999). He died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2013 while vacationing in Italy.- IMDb mini biography by: A. Nonymous
- SpousesDeborah Lin(August 30, 2008 - June 19, 2013) (his death, 1 child)Marcy Gandolfini(March 20, 1999 - December 18, 2002) (divorced, 1 child)
- ParentsSanta GandolfiniJames Joseph Gandolfini
- Best remembered as mob boss Tony Soprano from Les Soprano (1999).
- Frequently played characters who are brutish yet charming.
- Discreet smile.
- Large, chunky bear-like frame.
- Nasal New Jersey accent that grew deeper over the years.
- Known to be a shy man, uncomfortable being a celebrity.
- On an episode of Actors Studio (1994), 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 Les Soprano (1999).
- He played the trumpet and saxophone.
- Upon finding out that he was the only actor on The Sopranos (1999-2007) receiving a cut of the proceeds from DVD sales, he called every other cast member into his trailer and cut each a check for thousands of dollars from his amount.
- Was on vacation with his son at the time of his passing. He and his son were celebrating his son's graduation from junior high school.
- I'm a neurotic mess. I'm really basically just like a 260-pound Woody Allen.
- I'm an actor... I do a job and I go home. Why are you interested in me? You don't ask a truck driver about his job.
- I was voted best-looking kid in high school but, as you can see, things changed. I used to say I was a 260-pound Woody Allen. You can make that 295-pound now.
- [on why he rarely does interviews] I just don't think I'm that interesting. I don't think what I have to say is that interesting. To hear me go, "Blah, blah, blah, blah.".
- [on his reaction to Les Soprano (1999) pilot script] I thought, I've never been the lead before. They're gonna hire somebody else. But I knew I could do it. I have small amounts of "Mr. Soprano" in me. I was 35, a lunatic, a madman.
- Le dernier château (2002) - $5,000,000
- Les Soprano (1999) - $5,200,000
- Les Soprano (1999) - $13,000,000 (Season 5)
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