An unlikely leading man and even more unlikely sex symbol, balding, bear-like James Gandolfini was touted as both after his star-making portrayal of mobster Tony Soprano, a family man (in both senses) undergoing a mid-life crisis in the hit HBO drama "The Sopranos" (1999-2007). Although he came to an acting career late in life, he was already a well-respected character player – one whom the audience perhaps recognized by sight if not by name – when he read the script for "The Sopranos.” Sensing the quality of the writing and responding to the well-drawn character, Gandolfini was firmly convinced he wouldn't be cast, certain a more conventionally handsome "Irish-looking" guy would land the role. He confessed to being "shocked" when he actually nailed the role and was even more disturbed by the newfound celebrity status it brought to him.
Born on September 18, 1961 and raised in Westwood, NJ, Gandolfini graduated from Rutgers and went on to work as a bouncer and nightclub manager. A friend convinced him to attend an acting class and he gamely went along. The experience left him "unsettled,” especially an exercise in which he had to thread a needle; it was enough to push him into a new line of work. After studies at the Actors Studio, Gandolfini landed stage work in small venues before finally making his Broadway debut in 1992 as Steve Hubbell (and understudy for the role of Mitch) in a revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" starring Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin. That same year, he made his film debut supporting Melanie Griffith in "A Stranger Among Us,” Sidney Lumet's uneven thriller set in the Hassidic community of Brooklyn.
Gandolfini first registered as the philosophizing hit man Virgil in "True Romance" (1993), directed by Tony Scott. On the same day that film opened, he was seen on movie screens as John Cusack's brother in "Money for Nothing.” Displaying a softer side, the actor was cast as Geena Davis' love interest in "Angie" (1994). After that, it was onto roles that saw him play villains ("Terminal Velocity" 1994) and competent men of authority (Scott's "Crimson Tide" 1995). Gandolfini mined the humor of the stuntman-mobster in "Get Shorty" (also 1995). He gave a chilling account of an abusively drunk neighbor who tries to force himself on Robin Wright Penn in "She's So Lovely" (1997) and further displayed his versatility as the concerned father who pleads with lawyer John Travolta to represent the community in its claims of water contamination in the based-on-fact "A Civil Action" (1998), as a creepy pornographer with a deadly secret in "8mm" (1999) and as a cold-blooded killer with a sensitive side in "The Mexican" (2001). Later that year, he garnered additional praise as a prison warden with a mean streak in "The Last Castle" (opposite Robert Redford) and as a straying husband in the noirish "The Man Who Wasn't There,” written and directed by the Coen brothers.
All of these roles, however, were mere warm-ups for his portrayal of conflicted mob boss Tony Soprano on “The Sopranos,” one of the richest characters the actor ever had to play. Over the course of the first season, Gandolfini was handed a plethora of emotions to portray – from exasperation at the machinations of his fellow mobsters to the frustrations of dealing with his needy wife, growing children and overbearing mother to the discomfort of therapy sessions with the attractive Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco). The actor masterfully conveyed the numerous conflicting feelings with the right mix of anger and humanity. Audiences loved him and critics praised him and for his efforts, he was rewarded with a justly deserved Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2000 and repeated the triumph in 2001 and – after a season away from the awards when the series took a longer-than-usual hiatus – again in 2003. Back on the big screen, Gandolfini's creative fortunes were not as rich when he appeared opposite Ben Affleck in the painfully unfunny holiday comedy "Surviving Christmas" (2004). After appearing in John Turturro’s festival piece “Romance and Cigarettes” (2005), Ganolfini gave typically solid performances in otherwise middling fare, including Todd Robinson’s 1940s noir “Lonely Hearts” (2006) and Steve Zaillian’s miscalculated remake of “All the King’s Men” (also 2006).
Meanwhile, Gandolfini returned for a seventh and final season of “The Sopranos” where the biggest question was not if, but how Tony would get whacked. Answers were not forthcoming in the final episode, however, perhaps one of the most talked-about season finals of all time. In the final scene, Tony eats onion rings with Carmela (Edie Falco) and AJ (Robert Iler) at a diner while waiting on Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) to arrive. After a mysterious man in a Members Only jacket disappears into a bathroom and Meadow finally parks her car across the street, Tony suddenly looks up and the screen goes blank, leaving doubt as to whether or not he was indeed killed. While most viewers were confused by the sudden cut to black – some even thought the cable had gone out – it later became clear to many after unyielding discussion on Internet message boards that Tony Soprano was dead. Meanwhile, Gandolfini earned his fourth Emmy nomination for the role, entering the 2007 awards show as the odds-on favorite to win for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series.