James Gandolfini—star of the original prestige television series, ‘The Sopranos’—passed away a decade ago, today, at the age of 51.
Gandolfini is widely regarded as one of the greatest character actors ever born. He passed in Rome of a heart attack and was found by his then-fourteen-year-old son, Michael. At the time of his passing, Gandolfini was experiencing a career boom, with two well-received movies released posthumously.
His son and costars took to the internet to pay tribute to the late actor. Michael wrote, “Happy Father’s Day Dad. I love you. Today, tomorrow, and everyday. I miss you, I love you.”
Michael Gandolfini (@mgandolfini) • Instagram photos and videos
Costar, Julia Louis Dreyfus, said of Gandolfini,
“What was so particularly touching about working with him is that I feel as if the character he played in ‘Enough Said’ was very close to who he was as a person: a tender-hearted guy; soft; a vulnerable, even insecure guy. Juxtaposed to his size and his demeanor, it doesn’t seem to make sense. But that was, in fact, the case. I believe that’s why his depiction of Tony Soprano was so extraordinary, because there is that incredible vulnerability underneath it that was present all the time. And that’s really who he was.”
Sources:
James Gandolfini honored by Julia Louis-Dreyfus 10 years after death (usatoday.com)
Michael Gandolfini (@mgandolfini) • Instagram photos and videos
