‘The Sopranos’ cast remember James Gandolfini on 10th anniversary of actor’s death
The cast of The Sopranos have paid tribute to James Gandolfini on the 10th anniversary of the actor’s death.
Gandolfini – who played mob boss Tony Soprano in the popular HBO series – died on June 19 2013, aged 51, after suffering from a heart attack.
Michael Imperioli, who played Soprano’s protégé Christopher Moltisanti, remembered his former co-star with a tribute on Instagram.
“Batman and Robin… my favourite picture of us. And I can’t help thinking where we ended up that night and what you said. That was one for the books,” he captioned an old photo of the pair sitting in an audience together.
He continued: “It’s so very strange that it’s 10 years today since you left us. Would love to have shot one more scene or had another laugh or one more late night chat. Forever grateful to have done so much work together, to have spent so much time in your company and for all the generosity and kindness. Miss you lots as do so many on the planet.”
In a new Vanity Fair interview, numerous Sopranos co-stars, collaborators and friends also remembered the late actor. Edie Falco, who played Tony’s wife, Carmela, shared: “He didn’t let himself get bossed around by a lot of the things that I let walk me around—this good-student mentality.”
“I always had to get the lines just right and do the blocking exactly the same every time. And I would watch him, and he was following something…bigger. And deeper. If he had an impulse to say something a little different, or to change the blocking, he just did it. And I was jealous that he had somehow gotten permission from himself to do that kind of thing.”
Sopranos co-star Joe Pantoliano remembered his first day on the job of the show, when Gandolfini, in between takes, “looked me in the eye and he said, ‘Listen, it’s an honour and a pleasure to be working with you’.”
He continued: “It’s very hard for an actor coming into a show—a lot of actors are day players, or they’re on an episode with two scenes. But he always went out of his way to make sure that everybody was comfortable.
Last year, Sopranos cast member Steve Van Zandt recalled how Gandolfini once gave cast members a share of a pay rise he received while on the show.
Lin-Manuel Miranda also recently remembered how James Gandolfini helped him his brief appearance on The Sopranos.
Gandolfini’s son, Michael, honoured his late dad on Father’s Day last weekend (June 18) sharing a throwback photo of the pair together. “Happy Father’s Day Dad. I love you. Today, tomorrow, and everyday. I miss you, I love you,” he wrote.