James Gandolfini's portrayal of Tony Soprano was key to the success of "The Sopranos," but breathing life into the menacing mobster's character may have taken a toll on the actor.
Gandolfini's struggles with drugs and alcohol are widely known. Before he died in 2013, friends and family members were desperate for him to seek help. At one point, former HBO CEO Chris Albrecht staged an intervention.
"We did an intervention with him at my apartment in New York," Albrecht recalled in the new Max docuseries "Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos," according to Entertainment Weekly. "That was to try to get him to go to a facility for rehab. We'd had a lot of friction by that point, and the ruse was that I was inviting Jimmy over so we could talk things through and kind of clear the air."
Present at the intervention were Gandolfini’s sisters and several of his castmates, said Albrecht. But things didn't go according to plan.
"He walked in, and he saw everybody sitting there, and he went, 'Aw, [expletive] this.' And he walked out," Albrecht said. "Everybody went, 'Jimmy, Jimmy!' And he turned to me and he went, 'Fire me,' and he left."
His account matches a story revealed by acclaimed journalist James Andrew Miller, who wrote about the 2003 encounter in Albrecht's Manhattan apartment in his book "Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers," according to Vulture.
Gandolfini's family, friends, and business associates, including "Sopranos" creator David Chase, had even gone through "rehearsals" to prepare to confront him about his addiction. According to the book, a private jet was on standby to take Gandolfini to rehab. But the star sized up the situation in a snap.
Gandolfini played the main character in "The Sopranos" from 1999 to 2007. His performance earned him three Emmys, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Golden Globe.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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