James Gandolfini Biography




James Gandolfini
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

James Gandolfini

James Gandolfini in 2006
Born James J. Gandolfini, Jr.
September 18, 1961 (1961-09-18) (age 47)
Westwood, New Jersey, U.S.
Spouse(s) Marcia Wudarski (1999—2002)
Deborah Lin (2008—present)

James J. Gandolfini, Jr. (born September 18, 1961) is a Golden Globe, three-time Emmy and five-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor known for multifaceted portrayals of conscientious yet often inherently sinister characters. He is best known for his highly acclaimed role as Tony Soprano in the hit 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 notable 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.

Contents

Early life

Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey,1 the son of Joan, a school nutritionist, and James Gandolfini, Sr., a building maintenance chief at Paramus Catholic High School.234 His parents, Italian immigrants and devout Catholics, spent part of their childhoods in Italy and often spoke Italian.25 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.6 He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, from Rutgers University, where he worked as a bouncer at an on-campus pub.7 Gandolfini also worked as a bartender and club manager before embarking on an acting career.7 Gandolfini was introduced to acting as a young man living in New York City when he accompanied a friend to an acting class. In 2003, Gandolfini appeared in a series of television commercials with Greg Schiano promoting Rutgers football.8

Career

Gandolfini began as a stage actor prior to establishing his film and television 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. In 1994 film Terminal Velocity, Gandolfini played Ben Pinkwater, a seemingly mild-mannered insurance man who turns out to be a violent Russian mobster. He also appeared in The Juror as a mob enforcer with a conscience. In Get Shorty he appeared as a bearded ex-stuntman with a Southern accent. He plays the mayor of New York in the 2009 remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. James Gandolfini returned to HBO in 2007 as the Executive Producer of the Emmy nominated documentary special Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq, his first project after “The Sopranos” – and the first production for his company Attaboy Films which was opened in 2006 with producing partner Alexandra Ryan.

The Sopranos

Gandolfini's most acclaimed role to date 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 depiction of New Jersey Mafia boss Tony Soprano, an aging baby boomer who constantly questions his own identity and purpose. Gandolfini eventually garnered $1,000,000 per episode in the series. Entertainment Weekly recently listed him as the 42nd Greatest TV Icon of All Time for playing Tony Soprano.

Personal life

Gandolfini considers himself a pacifist and has maintained reservations about continuing his portrayal of the violent mob boss.citation needed His sister, Johanna Antonacci, is the manager of the Family Division of the New Jersey Superior Court in Hackensack, New Jersey. Gandolfini is a fan of motorcycles and owns a Harley Davidson and a Vespa scooter. On May 4, 2006, Gandolfini was riding his Vespa when it was hit by a taxi, in traffic. He was forced to undergo knee surgery after the accident, postponing the filming of the final Sopranos episodes.

He keeps ties with his hometown of Park Ridge by supporting The Octoberwoman Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. He appears at their annual October banquet and often brings other Sopranos cast members to help Octoberwoman draw large crowds. He currently resides in New York City, and owns a lot on the Lake Manitoba Narrows, presumably to build a cottage.9

On August 30, 2008 Gandolfini married his girlfriend, former model Deborah Lin, in her hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii10, after dating her for two years. Gandolfini has one child with his ex-wife, Marcy Wudarski, from whom he was divorced in December 2002.citation needed

Filmography

Awards

Awards
Preceded by
Dylan McDermott
for The Practice		 Golden Globe Award - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
for The Sopranos
2000		 Succeeded by
Martin Sheen
for The West Wing
Preceded by
Sam Waterston
for Law & Order		 Screen Actors Guild Award - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
for The Sopranos
1999		 Succeeded by
Martin Sheen
for The West Wing
Preceded by
Martin Sheen
for The West Wing		 Screen Actors Guild Award - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
for The Sopranos
2002		 Succeeded by
Kiefer Sutherland
for 24
Preceded by
Hugh Laurie
for House		 Screen Actors Guild Award - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
for The Sopranos
2007		 Succeeded by
{{{after}}}
v • d • e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series

Peter Falk (1976) · James Garner (1977) · Edward Asner (1978) · Ron Leibman (1979) · Edward Asner (1980) · Daniel J. Travanti (1981) · Daniel J. Travanti (1982) · Ed Flanders (1983) · Tom Selleck (1984) · William Daniels (1985) · William Daniels (1986) · Bruce Willis (1987) · Richard Kiley (1988) · Carroll O'Connor (1989) · Peter Falk (1990) · James Earl Jones (1991) · Christopher Lloyd (1992) · Tom Skerritt (1993) · Dennis Franz (1994) · Mandy Patinkin (1995) · Dennis Franz (1996) · Dennis Franz (1997) · Andre Braugher (1998) · Dennis Franz (1999) · James Gandolfini (2000) · James Gandolfini (2001) · Michael Chiklis (2002) · James Gandolfini (2003) ·
v • d • e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series

James Gandolfini (2001) · Michael Chiklis (2002) · James Gandolfini (2003) · James Spader (2004) · James Spader (2005) · Kiefer Sutherland (2006) · James Spader (2007) · Bryan Cranston (2008)

References

  1. ^ James Gandolfini, hbo.com, accessed May 22, 2007.
  2. ^ a b 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
  3. ^ James Gandolfini profile, eonline.com, accessed May 27, 2007.
  4. ^ Gandolfini has stated on a televised, "Inside the Actors Studio" interview, with James Lipton, that, at their jobs, his parents were the "lunch lady" and a janitor, respectively.
  5. ^ James Gandolfini - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  6. ^ 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."
  7. ^ a b James Gondolfini bio, askmen.com, accessed May 22, 2007.
  8. ^ People Scoop!, people.com, accessed April 23, 2003.
  9. ^ Winnipeg Free Press
  10. ^ Sopranos star Gandolfini weds in Hawaii: report, accessed August 31, 2008
  11. ^ [1],accessed 22 August 2008.
  12. ^ http://www.totalfilm.com/movie_news/news_james_gandolfinis_in_the_loop

External links

Persondata
NAME Gandolfini, James R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Emmy award winning American actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Westwood, New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH