Caption | James Gandolfini in 2006 |
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Birth date | September 18, 1961 |
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Birth place | Westwood, New Jersey, United States |
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Birthname | James J. Gandolfini, Jr. |
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Spouse | Marcy Wudarski (1999–2002)Deborah Lin (2008–present) |
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Occupation | Actor |
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Yearsactive | 1992–present |
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Notable role | Tony Soprano |
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James J. Gandolfini, Jr. (born September 18, 1961) is an Italian-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 career in the
Mafia. For this role, Gandolfini garnered enormous praise, winning the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series three times, along with the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series three times. Gandolfini's other roles include the woman-beating mob henchman Virgil in
True Romance, enforcer/stuntman Bear in
Get Shorty, Lt. General Miller in
In the Loop, and the impulsive Wild Thing Carol in
Where the Wild Things Are. In 2007, Gandolfini produced the HBO documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq" in which he interviewed 10 injured veterans from the
Iraq War. In 2010, Gandolfini produced another HBO documentary "Wartorn: 1861-2010" in which
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its impact on soldiers and families is analyzed throughout several wars in
American history from 1861 to 2010.
Early life
Gandolfini was born in
Westwood, New Jersey. His mother, Santa, a high school
lunch lady, was born in the U.S. and raised in Naples,
Italy. he also earned a
Purple Heart in
World War II. His parents were devout
Roman Catholics and spoke Italian at home. Thus, Gandolfini has himself recognised to having a strong sense of being Italian, and regularly visits the old country.
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. He was awarded the title "Class Flirt" in his senior yearbook. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Rutgers University, where he worked as a bouncer at an on-campus pub. Gandolfini also worked as a bartender and club manager before embarking on an acting career. In 2003, Gandolfini appeared in a series of television commercials with Greg Schiano promoting Rutgers football.
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, in
True Romance, was an old friend of his, who was a
hitman.
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 123. James Gandolfini returned to HBO in 2007 as the executive producer of the Emmy-nominated documentary special, , 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.
In June 2010, it was announced that Gandolfini would be executive producing an HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn titled Hemingway & Gellhorn and starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman. Philip Kaufman will direct the film, which was written by Barbara Turner and Jerry Stahl, and will reportedly begin shooting in 2011.
Variety reported on January 24, 2011 that Gandolfini will reunite with Sopranos' creator David Chase for Twylight Zones (2012), a music-driven production set in 1960s New Jersey. Gandolfini will co-star in Chase's feature film debut, playing the father of a teenage rock 'n' roll band lead singer (John Magaro).
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.
Gandolfini purchased a home in the hills of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey in 2009.
Filmography
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{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Other notes
|-
| 1987
|
Shock! Shock! Shock!
| Orderly
|
|-
| 1992
|
A Stranger Among Us
| Tony Baldessari
|
|-
| rowspan="4"|1993
|
Italian Movie
| Angelo
|
|-
|
Money for Nothing
| Billy Coyle
|
|-
|
True Romance
| Virgil
|
|-
|
Mr. Wonderful
| Mike
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1994
|
Angie
| Vinnie
|
|-
|
Terminal Velocity
| Ben Pinkwater
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|1995
|
Le Nouveau monde
| Will Caberra
|
|-
|
Crimson Tide
| Lt. Bobby Dougherty
|
|-
|
Get Shorty
| Bear
|
|-
| 1996
|
The Juror
| Eddie
|
|-
| rowspan="4"|1997
|
Night Falls on Manhattan
| Joey Allegretto
|
|-
|
She's So Lovely
| Kiefer
|
|-
|
Perdita Durango
| Willie 'Woody' Dumas
|
|-
| "
12 Angry Men"
| Juror 5
|
|-
|
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
| Diner Cook #2
| (Uncredited role)
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|1998
|
Fallen
| Lou
|
|-
|
The Mighty
| Kenny Kane
|
|-
|
A Civil Action
| Al Love
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1999
|
A Whole New Day
| Vincent
| short filmalso included in
Stories of Lost Souls (2005)
|-
|
8mm
| Eddie Poole
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|2001
|
The Mexican
| Winston Baldry
|
|-
|
The Man Who Wasn't There
| Big Dave Brewster
|
|-
|
The Last Castle
| Colonel Winter
|
|-
| 2004
|
Surviving Christmas
| Tom Valco
|
|-
| rowspan="4"|2006
|
Romance & Cigarettes
| Nick Murder
|
|-
|
Lonely Hearts
| Det. Charles Hilderbrandt
|
|-
|
All the King's Men
| Tiny Duffy
|
|-
|
Club Soda
| The Man
| short filmalso included in
Stories USA (2007)
|-
| rowspan="3"|2009
|
In the Loop
| Lt. Gen. George Miller
|
|-
|
The Taking of Pelham 123
|
Mayor
|
|-
|
Where the Wild Things Are
|
Carol
| Voice role
|-
| rowspan="2"|2010
|
Welcome to the Rileys
|
Doug Riley
|
|-
|
Mint Julep
| Mr. G
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2011
|
Down the Shore
| Bailey
|
|-
|
Violet & Daisy
| Michael
|
post-production
|-
| rowspan="3"|2012
|
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
|
|
filming
|-
|
Twylight Zones
|
|
filming
|-
|
Cogan's Trade
|
|
filming
|-
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2"|1997
|
Gun
| Walter Difideli
|
Episode: Columbus Day
|-
|
12 Angry Men
|
Juror #6
| TV-Movie
|-
| 1999–2007
|
The Sopranos
|
Tony Soprano
| 86 episodes
|-
| 2011
|
Cinema Verite
|
| TV-Movie
|-
|}
References
External links
Category:1961 births
Category:American film actors
Category:American stage actors
Category:American television actors
Category:Emmy Award winners
Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute alumni
Category:Living people
Category:Actors from New Jersey
Category:People from Bergen County, New Jersey
Category:People from New York City
Category:People from Tewksbury Township, New Jersey
Category:Rutgers University alumni
Category:American people of Italian descent