James Gandolfini
James R. Gandolfini (born September 18, 1961) is an American actor.
The son of Italian-Americans James Gandolfini (1935-2005) and Santa Gandolfini (1937-1992), he was exposed to acting while a young man living in New York City when he accompanied a friend to an acting class.
Although he acted on Broadway and in various films in the 1990s, Gandolfini's most acclaimed role 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 work in The Sopranos. He has starred in many films such as 8mm, The Mexican, The Last Castle, The Man Who Wasn't There and also has a small, but particularly menacing role, as a mafioso type in the violent thriller True Romance.
He was born in Westwood, New Jersey, grew up in Park Ridge, New Jersey, graduated from Park Ridge High School, and currently lives in New York City. James holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from Rutgers University. Among some of his more well-known film roles are as a brutal woman-beating mob enforcer in True Romance, tender bodyguard Bear in Get Shorty, the charismatic but ill-fated salesman in The Man Who Wasn't There, an enemy of Robert Redford in The Last Castle , and a kidnapper in The Mexican.
Trivia
- On May 4, 2006, Gandolfini crashed his Italian scooter into a taxi. Gandolfini was unhurt, but the scooter needed repair.
- Is typically identified as politically liberal, yet independent. [1] [2]
- Gandolfini was a DJ at New Brunswick, New Jersey night club the Melody Bar. Another famous record spinner at this bar was Matt Pinfield of MTV (120 Minutes) and now VH1 fame.
Filmography
- The Average Joe Fishing (1987)
- A Stranger Among Us (1992)
- True Romance (1993)
- Money for Nothing (1993)
- Mr. Wonderful (1993)
- Italian Movie (1993)
- Angie (1994)
- Terminal Velocity (1994)
- La Nouveau monde (1995)
- Crimson Tide (1995)
- Get Shorty (1995)
- The Juror (1996)
- Night Falls on Manhattan (1997)
- Gun (1997/I)
- She's So Lovely (1997)
- 12 Angry Men (1997) TV
- Perdita Durango (1997)
- Gun (1997/II)
- Fallen (1998)
- The Mighty (1998)
- A Civil Action (1998)
- The Sopranos (1999-present)
- 8mm (1999)
- A Whole New Day (1999)
- The Mexican (2001)
- The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
- The Last Castle (2001)
- Surviving Christmas (2004)
- Romance and Cigarettes (2005)
- All the King's Men (2006)