Before becoming the massive, balding guy that the world came to adore as a merciless but tender mob boss on The Sopranos, there was another James Gandolfini.
Decades before he portrayed the mysterious violent sociopath on The Sopranos, Gandolfini was just as flamboyant in his youth. He is best known for his role of the philandering Tony Soprano, who had greater luck remaining faithful to his crime family than his own family.
James Gandolfini was born on September 18, 1961, and gained notoriety for his role as the amiable Tony Soprano, the head of the Mafia, and the father figure in the HBO series The Sopranos.
Gandolfini received critical acclaim and multiple prizes for his groundbreaking portrayal of the damaged gangster, who was at times empathetic and at other times psychotic.
James Gandolfini said to Vogue, “I am playing an Italian lunatic from New Jersey, and that’s basically what I am,” in referee to the endearing but vicious Tony Soprano.
After a tremendously popular six-season run, the series concluded in 2007, leaving viewers wondering if the blacked-out screen in the finale suggested the antihero is alive, or dead.
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