James J. Gandolfini, Jr. (born September 18, 1961) is 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. He also played James Goss in
Yemar on the
Disney Channel. 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.
[James Gandolfini, hbo.com, accessed May 22, 2007. ] His mother, Santa, a high school
lunch lady, was born in the U.S. and raised in
Italy.
[ 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.][Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio, 2004][This Is James Gandolfini, He's Not Tony, The Actor Behind The Sopranos Mob Boss Is More Like "A 260-Pound Woody Allen" - CBS News][James Gandolfini profile, eonline.com, accessed May 27, 2007. ] His parents were devout Catholics and spoke Italian at home.[James Gandolfini - Britannica Online Encyclopedia] 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.[Rohan, Virginia. "North Jersey-bred and talented too", The Record (Bergen County), June 18, 2007. Accessed July 5, 2007. "James Gandolfini: Class of 1979, Park Ridge High School.... Basketball player; appeared in school plays, including Arsenic and Old Lace."] He was awarded the title "Class " 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.[James Gandolfini bio, askmen.com, accessed May 22, 2007. ] Gandolfini also worked as a bartender and club manager before embarking on an acting career.[People Scoop!, people.com, accessed April 23, 2003. ]
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, who's job was that of a hitman.[Youtube interview of James Gandolfini - Inside the actor's studio]
