This Is James Gandolfini, He's Not Tony

The Actor Behind The Sopranos Mob Boss Is More Like "A 260-Pound Woody Allen"

(AP)  The director, who also worked with Gandolfini in 1995's "Crimson Tide," recalled the actor's commitment, which included staying in a rundown motel to prep for "True Romance."

"In both cases, he became the character," Scott said. "I wonder how much of (that commitment) is stealing his soul as he does yet another season, because I know how much he gives in terms of his self."

Gandolfini continued with supporting roles in "Get Shorty" (1995), "The Juror" (1996), Lumet's "Night Falls on Manhattan" (1997), "She's So Lovely" (1997) "Fallen" (1998) and "A Civil Action" (1998). But it was "True Romance" that piqued the interest of "Sopranos" creator David Chase.

"Some of the turmoil that's inside of Jim, that pain and sadness, is what he uses to bring that guy to the screen," Chase told GQ.

Nobody was more surprised by the decision to cast him in the lead than Gandolfini.

"I thought, I've never been the lead before. They're going to hire somebody else," he told Vanity Fair. "But I knew I could do it. I have small amounts of Mr. Soprano in me. I was 35, a lunatic, a madman."

"The Sopranos" premiered in 1999 to immediate adulation, much of which praised Gandolfini's relatable performance as a mob boss who struggles with average problems. By its second season, "The Sopranos" was a breakout hit that would change the cable TV landscape and make HBO a revered bastion of creativity.

His modest attitude set the tone on the set, said Steve Van Zandt, who plays Tony's consigliere, Silvio Dante.

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Interactive: All About The Sopranos

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Photos: The Beginning Of The End

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Photos: The Final Shots

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"He's so humble a cat. I think it probably came from being a character actor all those years, and being very surprised — openly surprised — to be cast a lead," said Van Zandt. "If HE'S not acting like a diva, nobody better act like a diva."

But there was one notable argument between Gandolfini and HBO. Before production was to begin on season five in 2003, the actor threatened to leave if HBO didn't raise his salary. The network countersued Gandolfini for $100 million. The lawsuits were eventually dropped and Gandolfini, approximately doubled his salary of $400,000 per episode.

Gandolfini's personal life also started to appear in the tabloids. Two months after the "Sopranos" premiered in 1999, he married public relations executive Marcella Wudarski. They had a son, Michael, in May of that year, and moved out of Manhattan into a five-acre New Jersey home in 2001.

But in March 2002, Gandolfini filed for divorce. The proceedings dredged up allegations from Wudarski of cocaine and alcohol abuse by Gandolfini. In 2004, he became engaged to writer Lora Somoza, but the couple split in early 2005.

The many breaks in the "Sopranos" schedule have allowed Gandolfini to appear in a number of movies, including comedies ("The Mexican," "Surviving Christmas," "Romance & Cigarettes"), an action movie ("The Last Castle"), the Coen brothers' "The Man Who Wasn't There" and last year's award-seeking flop "All the King's Men."

All have been supporting roles — perhaps because playing Tony Soprano has taken up too much time and energy for larger parts, or maybe because Gandolfini remains committed to the character acting of his past.

This month, his latest movie, "Lonely Hearts," will be released. Costarring with Salma Hayek and his friend John Travolta, Gandolfini switches to the other side of the law for the period crime drama.

Writer-director Todd Robinson was impressed.

"He said to me, `People try to rope me into their movies all the time. I almost always find myself pitching other actors that can do it better than me,"' Robinson said. "Acting is make-believe, but this guy believes what he's doing."

Gandolfini has spoken as though judgment of his career will have to wait until after "The Sopranos." He has a three-year deal with HBO to create original programming, and his company is currently producing a documentary called "Occupation Iraq," about U.S. soldiers in the war. (Gandolfini has visited troops in the Persian Gulf.)

The actor's biggest post-"Sopranos" project is a film about Ernest Hemingway, in which he plays the writer. That's no small task, but Gandolfini is clearly looking forward to new challenges and shedding the heavy burden that has been Tony Soprano.

"It's been a great opportunity, but I don't have much trepidation about it ending," he told Vanity Fair. "It's more than time. Part of the fun of acting is the research, finding out about other people. As much as I've explored this guy, I don't know what else to really do with him. I've been in one place for 10 years. That's enough."

[adventurepa]

"So I opened the door and the guy just turns white," "All of a sudden I realize, `Oh ... he thinks I'm Tony."
That should be the next project HBO and James Gandolfini do together. That guys expression must have been worth a million dollars. He probably needed a new pair, wouldn't you? lol
The show was great last night.

[dog-x8]

It's about twenty min. till nine and I am trying to stay busy untill 9:00. I can not wait for the SOPRANOS to come on!!! I think all of the actors have done an excellent job on the show!! I will really miss them when they're gone. Oh and by the way, Mr.Gandolfini looks just like my brother-in-law.-----hmmmmm