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The following biography
is from
Wikipedia.org
“The
Free Encyclopedia.”
James R. Gandolfini (born
September 18, 1961) is a prominent, three-time Emmy award winning American
actor, known for his multi-faceted portrayals of conscientious yet often
inherently sinister characters. He is most famous for playing Tony Soprano in
the hit HBO series The Sopranos, an Italian-American crime boss struggling to
reconcile his family life with that of his underworld dealings. Among his other
notable roles are those of disturbing pornographer Eddie Poole in 8mm, sadistic
woman-beating mob enforcer Virgil in the Quentin Tarantino-written thriller True
Romance.
****
Born September 18, 1961
Westwood, New Jersey
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Notable roles Tony
Soprano (The Sopranos) series
Eddie Poole (8mm) Virgil
(True Romance)
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Lead Actor in
a Drama Series
2000-2001, 2003 The
Sopranos
****
Background
The son of
Italian-Americans James Gandolfini (1935-2005) and Santa Gandolfini (1937-1992),
he was exposed to acting while a young man living in New York City when he
accompanied a friend to an acting class.
Gandolfini was born in
Westwood, New Jersey, grew up in Park Ridge, New Jersey, graduated from Park
Ridge High School, and currently lives in New York City. He holds a Bachelor of
Arts Degree in Communications from Rutgers University.
Acting
career
Among some of his more
well-known film roles include playing Virgil in 1993 romantic thriller True
Romance where he plays a brutal woman-beating mob enforcer. 1994 saw Gandolfini
play Ben Pinkwater in Terminal Velocity as nice guy turned Russian mafia leader.
He also appeared in The Juror as a mob enforcer with a conscience.
The next two years were
busy for Gandolfini as he appeared in three blockbuster movies. First was
Crimson Tide where he appeared along side Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington. He
later appeared with the same two actors in different movies; Washington in the
thriller Fallen in 1998, and Hackman in the comedy The Mexican in 2001. In the
same year, looking a good deal different than he did in Crimson Tide, Gandolfini
returned to play the tender bodyguard Bear in Get Shorty .
In 8mm (1999), he played
Eddie Poole (based loosely on playboy studio director Darryl F. Zanuck) beaten
to death by Nicholas Cage in an abandoned house for being part of a snuff movie
in which a young girl was murdered. Other characters he played are the
charismatic but ill-fated salesman in The Man Who Wasn't There, an enemy of
Robert Redford in The Last Castle, and a homosexual hitman in The Mexican.
The
Sopranos years
Although he acted on
Broadway and in various films in the 1990s, Gandolfini's most acclaimed role 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 work on the show.
Trivia
On May 4, 2006,
Gandolfini crashed his Italian Vespa scooter into a taxi. Gandolfini was hurt
and needed knee surgery. Subsequently, the final episodes of the The Sopranos
have been postponed.
Is typically identified
as politically liberal, yet independent. [1] [2]
Gandolfini was a DJ at
New Brunswick, New Jersey night club, the Melody Bar. Another famous record
spinner at this bar was Matt Pinfield of MTV (120 Minutes) and now VH1 fame.
He currently demands
$1,000,000 per episode for The Sopranos.
Has appeared in three
films with John Travolta.
His talent agent is Jamie
Gold, the reigning 2006 World Series of Poker champion.
Plays "a mean trumpet"
according to NNDB.com.[3]
His sister Johanna is a
prominent official with the New Jersey Family Court system.
Well trained in Krav
Maga, (an Israeli style of Martial Arts) which he practiced for 2 1/2 years.
Is friends with former
New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Is an ardent supporter of
Rutgers' football team, and is featured in several television commercials for
Rutgers' football program, usually with head coach Greg Schiano and most
recently with another famous Rutgers alumnus, Mario Batali.
Filmography
The Average Joe Fishing
(1987)
A Stranger Among Us
(1992)
True Romance (1993)
Money for Nothing (1993)
Mr. Wonderful (1993)
Italian Movie (1993)
Angie (1994)
Terminal Velocity (1994)
La Nouveau monde (1995)
Crimson Tide (1995)
Get Shorty (film) (1995)
The Juror (1996)
Night Falls on Manhattan
(1997)
Gun (1997)
She's So Lovely (1997)
12 Angry Men (1997) TV
Perdita Durango (1997)
Gun (1997/II)
Fallen (1998)
The Mighty (1998)
A Civil Action (1998)
The Sopranos
(1999-present)
8mm (1999)
A Whole New Day (1999)
The Mexican (2001)
The Man Who Wasn't There
(2001)
The Last Castle (2001)
Surviving Christmas
(2004)
Romance and Cigarettes
(2005)
All the King's Men (2006)
Lonely Hearts (2006)
****
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gandolfini
Date Article Copied:
January 2007
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