James Gandolfini went through dark times playing Tony Soprano.
A new documentary about “The Sopranos,” titled “Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos,” premiered at Tribeca Film Festival on June 13 and revealed how the late Gandolfini battled demons while playing a mob boss on the iconic HBO series.
His TV wife, Edie Falco, said in the doc that Gandolfini “was a very good, kindhearted man,” but that the role “may have taken a toll on him,” according to USA Today.
David Chase, who created the series, said that Gandolfini “had to go places that were destructive to him, and painful for him,” to play Tony Soprano.
According to the documentary, Gandolfini reportedly deprived himself of sleep for days, walked around with rocks in his shoes “to get angry,” and bruised his hands by hitting the inside of his character’s car.
The actor also allegedly “threatened to quit the show nearly every other day,” including when there was an attempted intervention to stop his frequent drinking.
HBO head Chris Albrecht reportedly claimed in the doc that he tried convincing Gandolfini to go to rehab.
In response, Gandolfini allegedly yelled “Fire me!” and walked out.
Gandolfini starred on “The Sopranos” from 1999 until the series’ end in 2007.
He passed away in 2013 after suffering a heart attack at 51.
Gandolfini’s personal struggles during his time on “The Sopranos” were previously brought to light in journalist James Andrew Miller’s 2021 book “Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontier.”
Former Time Warner chairman and CEO head Jeff Bewkes told Miller that executives were worried Gandolfini was going to die during the show’s run.
“Occasionally he would go on a bender or a coke binge. We had to stop production,” Bewkes said in the book.
Former HBO chairman, Chris Albrecht, revealed in the book that HBO hosted an intervention at Gandolfini’s apartment in Manhattan. Gandolfini allegedly entered the apartment where he found his loved ones waiting for him, and he cursed at them, dared Albrecht to fire him, and stormed out.
Despite his many issues, Gandolfini stayed on “The Sopranos” for all six seasons.
The new documentary about the show was directed by Alex Gibney. The two hour-and-40-minute project features audition tapes of some of the cast members, funny anecdotes from their time on set, and new information about the show’s controversial ending.
Chase, 78, and many of the cast members including Falco, Michael Imperioli, Drea de Matteo, and Aida Turturro reunited at Tribeca for the documentary’s premiere.
“Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos” is expected to premiere on Max later this year.
