‘Sopranos’ star James Gandolfini struggled on set from ‘excesses of consumption’: book

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James Gandolfini grew to become “increasingly unreliable” a number of seasons into “The Sopranos” as his ingesting grew to become tougher for the actor to cover whereas filming, a brand new book claims.

Mark Kamine, writer of “On Locations: Lessons Learned from My Life On Set with The Sopranos and in the Film Industry,” scouted places for “The Sopranos” throughout its six-season run. In his book, he writes about an incident nicely into the collection when the actor stayed out all night time in Atlantic City and confirmed as much as work late and unprepared.

Kamine says that whereas capturing the season 4 “Pie-O-My” episode, Gandolfini and several other others went out one night time within the playing hotspot.

“I am at the hotel bar when the crew member closest to Jim asks if I want to go down to Atlantic City with Jim and a few others. It’s over an hour away. I decline,” he wrote within the book. “The next morning I’m not surprised when Jim cannot be roused.”

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James Gandolfini in a scene from The Sopranos

James Gandolfini’s substance abuse brought about increasingly more points on set as “The Sopranos” acquired into later seasons, writer says. (Anthony Neste/Getty Images)

Kamine mentioned Gandolfini lastly arrived about 4 hours late to the set.

“We get through the day with an extra hour and a half of shooting but without falling behind, Jim cursing his way through his half-learned lines, doing take after take, drinking coffees and bottles of water, alternately sheepish and churlish, the way he always is when he f–ks up,” Kamine wrote.

He added, “Jim becomes increasingly giving as his fame and his apparent discomfort with it grow. He also becomes increasingly unreliable, so that in his new deal HBO reportedly adds a clause making him responsible for shoot-day costs if he misses work due to excesses of consumption.”

Gandolfini died in June 2013 at 51 years previous.

A GQ article revealed across the time of Gandolfini’s demise detailed the results the “punishing role” of enjoying a sociopathic mobster had on the actor.

Playing “Tony Soprano would always require to some extent being Tony Soprano,” the writer claimed, including that “In papers related to a divorce filing at the end of 2002, Gandolfini’s wife described increasingly serious issues with drugs and alcohol, as well as arguments during which the actor would repeatedly punch himself in the face out of frustration. To anybody who had witnessed the actor’s self-directed rage as he struggled to remember lines in front of the camera — he would berate himself in disgust, curse, smack the back of his own head — it was a plausible scenario.”

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James Gandolfini with Edie Falco

James Gandolfini was “frustrated” by and “in awe” of Edie Falco’s professionalism, a brand new book claims. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Tony Awards)

Kamine wrote that Gandolfini was “frustrated” by castmate Edie Falco’s (his onscreen spouse) professionalism. 

“Jim seems in awe of it and frustrated by her ready access to convincing emotion,” he wrote. “He often gets to set not quite in character, cursing himself mid-scene, calling on the script supervisor to feed him lines.”

He continued, “But it’s worth the wait, worth making up the occasional missed day, because he more than anyone other than [creator] David [Chase] makes the show what it is, his expressive features and rich readings and menacing, restrained gesturing delivering great and consistent impact.” 

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Last fall, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who performed Gandolfini’s daughter on the present, revealed he would typically “question himself” on set.

“Every time I worked with him, I felt like his sole purpose was… ‘I’m going to help you give your best f–king take, Jamie,’” the 42-year-old actress mentioned on the “Inside of You” podcast.

She continued, “It had nothing to do with his confidence, ’cause [he] was actually not [confident]. He would question himself. There would be moments where he’d be like, ‘I f–king suck,’ but I appreciated that because I’ve had those thoughts, but I didn’t say them out loud because I don’t want anybody to know that I think I suck. He was confident enough to say it out loud.”

An excerpt of James Andrew Miller’s book, “Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers,” that was revealed in Vice in 2021, claimed that Gandolfini mentioned a number of instances through the present’s run: “You don’t understand what this is doing to me.”

Jamie Lynn Sigler with James Gandolfini

Jamie-Lynn Sigler mentioned James Gandolfini would “question himself” on set. (Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

He continued, “The more audiences watched and praised Gandolfini as Tony, the more his personal journey became problematic. Jimmy had suffered from alcohol and drug abuse — those twin consoling companions of both success and failure — for years, and the stress of occupying the lead role in a smash hit was formidable. Of his substance abuse, Gandolfini said: ‘When I was 20 or 18, it started … and it progressed through the years.’ In 1997, he was arrested for DUI and adopted antics befitting a living legend, which at the time he had yet to become.”

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But, regardless of his struggles, Miller wrote that Gandolfini was so proficient he “transcended mere ‘acting.’”

“His complex, nuanced, and inspired performance demonstrated remarkable range, not just over the course of the series, or any one episode, but often within a scene, a confrontation, even a single moment, that seemed to transcend mere ‘acting,’” he mentioned.

Gandolfini was additionally cherished by his castmates. 

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“I guess there was a confidence there, but I think it came more from him deeply caring,” Sigler mentioned on the podcast final yr. “Deeply, deeply caring. He was an exceptional human being.”

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