JAMES GANDOLFINI
Date of Birth: September 18, 1961
After spending years as a Manhattan bouncer and nightclub manager, Westwood, New Jersey-born
James Gandolfini discovered acting when a friend took him to an acting class in the late '80s.
He was left so unsettled and challenged by a focusing exercise that involved threading a needle
that he knew he had to return. He made his Broadway debut in 1992 in A Streetcar Named Desire
along with Alec Baldwin, Jessica Lange and Amy Madigan. Gandolfini immersed himself in
Manhattan's downtown theater world.
After making his big-screen debut in Sidney Lumet's A Stranger Among Us, Gandolfini's
breakthrough came with his portrayal of Virgil, the philosophizing hitman, in Tony Scott's
True Romance with Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette.
He then appeared in Mr. Wonderful with Annabella Sciorra and Matt Dillon and in Money for
Nothing with John Cusack. Gandolfini has also been seen in Get Shorty, She's So
Lovely, A Civil Action, The Mighty and 8MM.
Gandolfini became a household name after landing the role of Tony Soprano in HBO's hit series, The
Sopranos, for which he has won three Emmy awards in 2000, 2001 and 2003 as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, as well as a 2000 Golden Globe award.
Filmography:
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) (voice)
Welcome to the Rileys(2009)
Kiddie Ride (2009)
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3(2009)
In the Loop(2009)
Lonely Hearts (2006)
All the King's Men(2005)
Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
Surviving Christmas(2004)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
Catch Me if
You Can (2001)
The Last Castle (2001)
Blow (2001)
The Mexican (2001)
8MM (1999)
A Civil Action (1998)
The Mighty (1998)
Fallen (1998)
Gun (1997)
Perdita Durango (1997)
She's So Lovely (1997)
Night Falls on Manhattan (1997)
The Juror (1996)
Get Shorty (1995)
Crimson Tide (1995)
The New World (1995)
Angie (1994)
Terminal Velocity (1994)
Italian Movie (1993)
Money for Nothing (1993)
Mr. Wonderful (1993)
True Romance (1993)
A Stranger Among Us (1992)