People

As seen on screen

James Gandolfini: back in a big way

 
 

Gandolfini
Gandolfini
Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

In the five years since The Sopranos ended, James Gandolfini has eschewed the spotlight, disappearing into a heap of character actor performances that have only further proved his wide-ranging talent.

This season offers a gluttony of Gandolfini, albeit in bite-sized parts. In Kathryn Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden hunt docudrama Zero Dark Thirty, he plays Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. In David Chase’s ’60s period drama Not Fade Away, he’s the old-school father of a wannabe rocker. (Both movies open Friday.) And in Andrew Dominick’s crime flick Killing Them Softly, he plays an aged, washed-up hit man.

None of the roles are showy lead men, and that’s fine.

“I’m much more comfortable doing smaller things,” Gandolfini said in an interview with the Associated Press. “I like them. I like the way they’re shot; they’re shot quickly. It’s all about the scripts.”

His recent work has vacillated from comedy, his genre of choice (as a general in the political satire In the Loop) to heartwarming drama (a businessman moved to rehabilitate an abandoned teen, Kristen Stewart, in Welcome to the Rileys). He voiced the Wild Thing Carol in Where the Wild Things Are, a performance that, by stripping him of his sizable frame, highlighted his tenderness.

In Not Fade Away, Gandolfini, 51, reprises certain characteristics of Tony Soprano — an Italian patriarch displeased with his son — but the film also turns on a tender moment that bridges the generational divide.

“It’s the time when you find out, all of a sudden you realize as you get older, that maybe your father wasn’t just there to raise you, that he actually had dreams of his own and things that he wanted to do and things that he’s sacrificed,” says Gandolfini, a father of a 13-year-old son and, with his second wife Deborah Lin, a 2-month-old girl.

Gandolfini grew up in New Jersey the son of a bricklayer and a high school lunch lady. His background clearly informs his attitude about acting.

“People don’t know and they shouldn’t know that you work incredibly hard as an actor,” he says. “So in terms of a blue collar background, that matches up. But it is an odd way to make a living. Putting somebody else’s pants on and pretending to be somebody else is occasionally, as you grow older, horrifying.”

Read more People stories from the Miami Herald

  •  

Cooper, Galifianakis and Hlems

    At the movies

    For stars, ‘Hangover’ was a game changer

    Four years ago, Bradley Cooper had built a solid reputation as a scene-stealing supporting player. Ed Helms was best known for his sweet but buffoonish Andy on The Office. And few, besides comedy-club bookers and his own family members, could wrap their mouths around the last name of Zach Galifianakis.

  •  

Juan Pablo Galavis

    As seen on TV

    2 locals starring in ‘Bachelorette’

    Romantics, whet your appetites for reality matchmaking at its finest. The Bachelorette is back in action 9 p.m. Monday on ABC. The lucky (some would say) lady is Desiree Hartsock, a fan favorite from Bachelor Sean Lowe’s past season.

  •  

Campbell

    Celebrity birthdays on May 22

    Actor Michael Constantine (“Room 222”) is 86. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 75. Actress Barbara Parkins (“Valley of the Dolls”) is 71. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 63. Singer Morrissey is 54. Actress Ann Cusack (“A League of Their Own”) is 52. Actor Mark Christopher Lawrence (“Chuck”) is 49. Model Naomi Campbell is 43. Actress Anna Belknap (“CSI: NY”) is 41. Singer Donell Jones is 40. Actor Sean Gunn (”Gilmore Girls”) is 39. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin is 35.

Miami Herald

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category