Worldwide recognition can sometimes come at a price.
The Sopranos holds the title of one of the best TV shows ever created for a reason. This show is so much more than just a portrayal of a mob family at work. The HBO series is a true treasure with an intriguing and twisted plot and the most amazing cast.
There were many significant actors in The Sopranos, and each of them did their best to make their complex characters feel real. But there was one actor who gave his all to his role, and of course we are talking about none other than James Gandolfini.
His character, Tony Soprano, was the central figure of the show: the main mobster, the father of the family, and the most complicated person. Gandolfini’s devotion to the role made Tony Soprano one of the best TV characters of all time. But this extraordinary success came at a high price for the actor.
It turns out that portraying Tony Soprano was exhausting for Gandolfini. He was under a lot of pressure on the set, but what made it even worse was that even after filming was over, he never found peace with himself.
He decided to stay in character all the time, but that only made things worse, and the actor’s mental health was quickly destroyed. He started having anger issues and was always out of shape. He was acting like Tony Soprano almost all the time, and we know how hot-tempered that guy was.
The fact that the actor was suffering so much didn’t go unnoticed by his co-stars. His TV wife Carmela, portrayed brilliantly by Edie Falco, shared in an interview with Far Out Magazine that Gandolfini’s approach to acting even affected his physical health.
However, despite all this, the actor couldn’t just quit the show because he knew he was the main star and everything depended on him, so he put his work first and continued. And that was appreciated by everyone in the crew.
Unfortunately, James Gandolfini passed away from a heart attack in 2013, but his contribution to the TV industry will never be forgotten.
