Gandolfini
Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Based on extensive research and original interviews, this intimate biography reveals the complexities of Gandolfini's character, his rise to fame, and his lasting impact on television and film.
“A riveting look inside the mind of a towering talent, this is a must for Sopranos fans."―Publishers Weekly
"A fast-moving, entertaining bio of a Hollywood mensch."―Kirkus
In Gandolfini, critic and historian Jason Bailey traces the twinned stories of the man and the unforgettable roles he played.
Gandolfini’s roots were working class, raised in northern New Jersey as the son of Italian immigrants, and acting was something he loved for a long time before he could see it as a career. It wasn’t until he was well into his bohemian twenties that he dedicated himself to a life on the stage and screen.
Bailey traces his rise, from bit parts to character roles he enlivened with menace and vulnerability, to Tony Soprano, the breakout role that would make him a legend, and onto a post-Sopranos career in which he continued to challenge himself and his audience.
More than a decade after his sudden passing, James Gandolfini still exerts a powerful pull on television and film enthusiasts around the world. His charismatic portrayal of complex, flawed, but always human men illuminated the contradictions in all of us, as well as our potential for grace, and the power of love and family.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Film historian Bailey (Fun City Cinema) traces the career of Sopranos actor James Gandolfini, who died in 2013, in this incisive biography. The New Jersey native dabbled in theater during high school, but he had largely left acting behind when his girlfriend died in a car crash his junior year at Rutgers University, motivating him to return to the stage to cope with his grief. Bailey suggests that whether he was appearing in a ragtag traveling production of A Streetcar Named Desire in his mid-20s or the rom-com Enough Said near the end of his life, Gandolfini was thoroughly committed to every role. For instance, he built a backstory for his minor character in 1995's Get Shorty and hired a dialect coach to perfect the Southern accent he decided the character should have. A detailed account of Gandolfini's starring turn as mobster Tony Soprano discusses how the show's dark themes and marathon shoots took a toll on the actor's mental health and exacerbated his issues with drugs and alcohol. Even as Gandolfini struggled to distance himself from Tony, he remained fundamentally kind, Bailey suggests, noting that Gandolfini wrote $36,000 checks for each of the other 16 Sopranos series regulars after negotiating a more profitable contract for himself. A riveting look inside the mind of a towering talent, this is a must for Sopranos fans.
