James J. Gandolfini, Jr. (born September 18, 1961) is a Golden Globe, three-time Emmy and five-time Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor known for multifaceted portrayals of conscientious yet often inherently sinister characters. He is best known for his highly acclaimed role as Tony Soprano in the hit HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and his career in the Mafia. Gandolfini's other notable roles include pornographer Eddie Poole in 8mm, woman-beating mob enforcer Virgil in the Quentin Tarantino-written thriller True Romance, a gay hitman in The Mexican, enforcer/stuntman Bear in Get Shorty, and a martinet military prison commander in The Last Castle. He also played James Goss in Yemar on the Disney Channel.

Early life

Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey,James Gandolfini, hbo.com, accessed May 22, 2007. the son of Joan, a school nutritionist, and James Gandolfini, Sr., a building maintenance chief at Paramus Catholic High School.[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/08/entertainment/main2661341.shtml?source=RSSattr=Entertainment_2661341 This Is James Gandolfini, He's Not Tony, The Actor Behind The Sopranos Mob Boss Is More Like "A 260-Pound Woody Allen" - CBS News ] His parents, Italian immigrants and devout Catholics, spent part of their childhoods in Italy and often spoke Italian. Gandolfini grew up in Park Ridge, New Jersey and graduated from Park Ridge High School in 1979, where he played basketball and acted in school plays. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, from Rutgers University, where he worked as a bouncer at an on-campus pub.James Gondolfini bio, askmen.com, accessed May 22, 2007. Gandolfini also worked as a bartender and club manager before embarking on an acting career. Gandolfini was introduced to acting as a young man living in New York City when he accompanied a friend to an acting class. In 2003, Gandolfini appeared in a series of television commercials with Greg Schiano promoting Rutgers football.

Career

Gandolfini began as a stage actor prior to establishing his film and television career. He performed in a 1992 Broadway production of On the Waterfront for six months. One of his better known film roles is that of Virgil, a brutal woman-beating mob enforcer, in the 1993 romantic thriller True Romance. In 1994 film Terminal Velocity, Gandolfini played Ben Pinkwater, a seemingly mild-mannered insurance man who turns out to be a violent Russian mobster. He also appeared in The Juror as a mob enforcer with a conscience. In Get Shorty he appeared as a bearded ex-stuntman with a Southern accent. He plays the mayor of New York in the 2009 remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. James Gandolfini returned to HBO in 2007 as the Executive Producer of the Emmy nominated documentary special Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq, his first project after “The Sopranos” – and the first production for his company Attaboy Films which was opened in 2006 with producing partner Alexandra Ryan.