Biography
An unlikely leading man and even more unlikely sex symbol, James Gandolfini was touted as both after his star-making portrayal of mobster Tony Soprano, a family man undergoing a mid-life crisis on the hit HBO drama, "The Sopranos" (1999-2007). Although he came to an acting career later in life, he was already a well-respected character player with roles as a hitman in "True Romance" (1993), a bearded stuntman and low-level henchman in "Get …
James Gandolfini SlideShow
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Career Milestones
2012 | Cast in 1960s-set drama "Not Fade Away," written and directed by "The Sopranos" creator David Chase | |
2012 | Played U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in Kathryn Bigelow directed "Zero Dark Thirty," based on the hunt for Osama bin Laden | |
2012 | Co-starred with Brad Pitt in crime drama "Killing Them Softly," a feature adaptation of George V. Higgins' novel Cogan's Trade | |
2011 | Cast in the feature adaptation of "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" | |
2011 | Portrayed filmmaker Craig Gilbert in HBO drama "Cinema Verite" | |
2010 | Played a man dealing with the death of his daughter in "Welcome to the Rileys" | |
2009 | Voiced Carol in Spike Jonze's live-action adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" | |
2009 | Played a peace-loving general in the political satire "In The Loop" | |
2009 | Cast in the Broadway production of Yasmina Reza's "God of Carnage"; earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play | |
2007 | Executive produced the HBO documentary on the Iraq War "Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq"; the film featured Gandolfini interviewing numerous disabled veterans | |
2007 | Played a homicide detective in "Lonely Hearts," based on the true story the notorious Lonely Hearts Killers of the 1940s | |
2006 | Cast in Steven Zaillian's big-screen adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel "All the King's Men" | |
2005 | Cast opposite Kate Winslet, as a two-timing husband who must choose between his mistress and his beleaguered wife in "Romance & Cigarettes," helmed by John Turturro | |
2005 | Reprised his role in "Be Cool," the sequel to the 1995 hit "Get Shorty" | |
2004 | Co-starred with Ben Affleck and Christina Applegate in the comedy "Surviving Christmas" | |
2001 | Played a cheating husband in the Coen brothers' film noir "The Man Who Wasn't There" | |
2001 | Portrayed a hit man with a sensitive side in "The Mexican" | |
1999 | Became a bona fide star and unlikely sex symbol as Tony Soprano, a gangster having a midlife crisis on the acclaimed HBO drama "The Sopranos"; received Emmy (1999, 2004, 2007), Golden Globe (2001, 2002, 2003) and SAG (2001, 2002, 2005, 2007) nominations for Best Actor | |
1999 | Appeared as a pornographer in Joel Schumacher's "8mm" | |
1998 | Featured as a concerned parent in "A Civil Action," starring John Travolta | |
1997 | TV movie debut as Juror Number 6 in the Showtime remake of "12 Angry Men" | |
1997 | Featured in the L.A. stage play "Remembrance"; produced by Sean Penn and starring Penn's parents Leo Penn and Eileen Ryan | |
1997 | Delivered a memorable turn as a drunkenly abusive neighbor in "She's So Lovely" | |
1997 | Reteamed with Lumet for "Night Falls on Manhattan" | |
1996 | Supported Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore in "The Juror" | |
1995 | Cast as the supply officer in Tony Scott's "Crimson Tide" | |
1995 | Played a stuntman in "Get Shorty" opposite John Travolta | |
1995 | Returned to Broadway as Charley Malloy in the ill-fated stage adaptation of "On the Waterfront" | |
1994 | First leading role, as the title character's plumber beau in "Angie" opposite Geena Davis | |
1993 | Cast as John Cusack's brother in "Money for Nothing" | |
1993 | Breakthrough film role as the hitman Virgil in "True Romance," directed by Tony Scott | |
1992 | Film debut, "A Stranger Among Us"; first collaboration with Sidney Lumet | |
1992 | Broadway debut playing Steve Hubbell in the revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire," also starring Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange | |
| Acted in off-off- and off-Broadway productions | ||
| Stage acting debut in "Big El's Best Friend" | ||
| Taken by a friend to an acting class in the late 1980s | ||
| Worked various jobs, including as a bouncer, nightclub manager and truck driver | ||
| Born and raised in New Jersey | ||
Awards
2008 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Special in Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq |
2008 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in The Colors of the Prism, the Mechanics of Time |
2008 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2007 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2005 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2005 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2004 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2003 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2003 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2003 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2002 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama in The Sopranos |
2002 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2002 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2001 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama in The Sopranos |
2001 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2001 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2001 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2000 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama in The Sopranos |
2000 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2000 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
2000 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
1999 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama in The Sopranos |
1999 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in The Sopranos |
1996 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in Get Shorty |