James Gandolfini

James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini in 2006
Born	James J. Gandolfini, Jr. September 18, 1961 (1961-09-18) (age 49) Westwood, New Jersey, United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Marcy Wudarski (1999–2002) Deborah Lin (2008–present)

James J. Gandolfini, Jr. (born September 18, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and his career in the Mafia. Gandolfini's other roles include pornographer Eddie Poole in 8mm, woman-beating mob enforcer Virgil in the Quentin Tarantino-written thriller True Romance, a gay hitman in The Mexican, enforcer/stuntman Bear in Get Shorty, and a martinet military prison commander in The Last Castle. In 2007, Gandolfini produced the HBO documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq" in which he interviewed 10 injured veterans from the Iraq War.

Early life

Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey.^[1] His mother, Santa, a high school lunch lady, was born in the U.S. and raised in Italy.^[2] His father, James Gandolfini, Sr., a native of Borgotaro, Italy, was a bricklayer, cement mason, and later the head custodian at Paramus Catholic High School, New Jersey, United States.^[2][3][4] His parents were devout Catholics and spoke Italian at home.^[3][5] Gandolfini grew up in Park Ridge, New Jersey, and graduated from Park Ridge High School in 1979, where he played basketball and acted in school plays.^[6] He was awarded the title "Class Flirt" in his senior yearbook. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Rutgers University, where he worked as a bouncer at an on-campus pub.^[7] Gandolfini also worked as a bartender and club manager before embarking on an acting career.^[7] Gandolfini was introduced to acting as a young man living in New York City when he accompanied a friend to an acting class. In 2003, Gandolfini appeared in a series of television commercials with Greg Schiano promoting Rutgers football.^[8]

Career

He performed in a 1992 Broadway production of On the Waterfront for six months. One of his better known film roles is that of Virgil, a brutal woman-beating mob enforcer, in the 1993 romantic thriller True Romance. Gandolfini states in an "Inside the Actors Studio" interview that one of his major inspirations for the role of Virgil was an old friend of his, whose job was that of a hitman.^[9]

In 1994 film Terminal Velocity, Gandolfini played Ben Pinkwater, a seemingly mild-mannered insurance man who turns out to be a violent Russian mobster. He also appeared in The Juror as a mob enforcer with a conscience. In Get Shorty he appeared as a bearded ex-stuntman with a Southern accent. He played the mayor of New York in the 2009 remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. James Gandolfini returned to HBO in 2007 as the executive producer of the Emmy nominated documentary special Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq, his first project after “The Sopranos”–and the first production for his company Attaboy Films which was opened in 2006 with producing partner Alexandra Ryan.

He returned to the stage in 2009, appearing in Broadway's God of Carnage with Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis and Jeff Daniels.^[10]

In June 2010 it was announced that Gandolfini would be executive producing an HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn entitled Hemingway & Gellhorn that Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman will star in. Philip Kaufman will direct the film, which was written by Barbara Turner and Jerry Stahl, and will reportedly begin shooting next year. ^[11]

The Sopranos

Gandolfini's most acclaimed role to date is that of Tony Soprano, the Mafia boss and family man in the multi-award-winning HBO series The Sopranos, which debuted in 1999. He has won three Emmys for "Best Actor in a Drama" for his depiction of New Jersey Mafia boss Tony Soprano, an aging baby boomer who constantly questions his own identity and purpose. Gandolfini eventually earned $US1,000,000 per episode in the series. Entertainment Weekly recently listed him as the 42nd Greatest TV Icon of All Time for playing Tony Soprano.

Alive Day: Home from Iraq

In 2007, Gandolfini produced a documentary with HBO focused on injured Iraq veterans and their devotion to America, while surveying the physical and emotional costs of war. Ten surviving soldiers were interviewed by Gandolfini, who revealed their thoughts on the challenges which they face integrating back into society and family life. They also reflected on the memories of the day when they narrowly escaped death, and what life may have been like in other circumstances.

Personal life

Galdolfini with Rose McGowan.

Galdolfini and Tony Sirico visit with a member of the U.S. Air Force during a USO visit to Southwest Asia.

Gandolfini has maintained ties with his hometown of Park Ridge by supporting The Octoberwoman Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. He appears at their annual October banquet and often brings other Sopranos cast members to help Octoberwoman draw large crowds. He currently resides in New York City, and owns a lot on the Lake Manitoba Narrows.^[12]

On August 30, 2008, Gandolfini married his girlfriend, former model Deborah Lin, in her hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii, after dating her for two years. Gandolfini has one child with his ex-wife, Marcy Wudarski, from whom he was divorced in December 2002.

His sister, Johanna Antonacci, is the manager of the Family Division of the New Jersey Superior Court in Hackensack, New Jersey. Gandolfini is a fan of motorcycles and owns a Harley Davidson and a Vespa scooter. On May 4, 2006, Gandolfini was riding his Vespa in New York City, when it was hit by a taxi in traffic. He was forced to undergo knee surgery after the accident, postponing the filming of the final Sopranos episodes by three months.

Filmography

• A Stranger Among Us (1992) as Tony Baldesseri
• True Romance (1993) as Virgil
• Money for Nothing (1993) as Billy Coyle
• Mr. Wonderful (1993) as Mike
• Italian Movie (1993) as Angelo
• Angie (1994) as Vinnie
• Terminal Velocity (1994) as Ben Pinkwater
• New World (1995) as Will Caberra
• Crimson Tide (1995) as Lt. Bobby Dougherty
• Get Shorty (1995) as Bear
• The Juror (1996) as Eddie
• Night Falls on Manhattan (1997) as Joey Allegretto
• She's So Lovely (1997) as Kiefer
• 12 Angry Men (1997) TV movie as Juror #6
• Perdita Durango (1997) as Willy 'Woody' Dumas
• Fallen (1998) as Det. Lou
• The Mighty (1998) as Kenneth "Killer" Kane
• A Civil Action (1998) as Al Love
• 8mm (1999) as Eddie Poole
• A Whole New Day (1999) as Vincent
• The Mexican (2001) as Winston Baldry
• The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) as Big Dave Brewster
• The Last Castle (2001) as Col. Winter
• Surviving Christmas (2004) as Tom Valco
• Stories of Lost Souls (2006) as Vincent
• All the King's Men (2006) as Tiny Duffy
• Lonely Hearts (2006) as Charles Hildebrandt
• Romance & Cigarettes (2007) as Nick Murder
• Stories USA (2007) as The Man
• Kiddie Ride (2008) as Bailey
• In the Loop (2009) as General Miller^[13][14]
• The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) as The Mayor
• Where the Wild Things Are (2009) as Carol (voice)
• Welcome to the Rileys (2010) as Doug Riley
• Cinema Verite (2011) as documentary producer Craig Gilbert. (HBO Films)

TV series

• The Sopranos (1999–2007) as Tony Soprano

References

External links

• James Gandolfini at the Internet Movie Database
• James Gandolfini at the TCM Movie Database
• James Gandolfini at Yahoo! Movies