James Gandolfini would frequently say he would quit The Sopranos, although always came back, knowing people relied on him.
As Tony Soprano so eloquently put it, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” But for James Gandolfini, it may be that everyone around him was wrong twice a day. Gandolfini helped change the landscape of modern television through The Sopranos but he had just as many headaches as his “waste management” counterpart. Only, these didn’t involve Livia, Ralph or any number of constant nags for Tony.
As recounted in the new documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos (currently streaming on Max), Gandolfini’s temper and other shortcomings would get in the way of his desire to work. As Steven Van Zandt – who played the loyal, bandana-clad Silvio Dante – remembered, “He probably quit the show every other day. Maybe every day. Every other day we would go to a bar and we would have the exact same conversation. We’d get drunk and [he’d] say, ‘I’m done. I can’t, I’m not going back.’ And I would say, ‘OK, you got a hundred people depending on you here.’ And he’s like, ‘Ah, yeah, yeah, OK.’”
One particular instance found Gandolfini being confronted by a number of his Sopranos crew, who tried to sit him down for an intervention when his drinking problem got out of hand. As told by former HBO CEO Chris Albrecht, “We did an intervention with him at my apartment in New York. 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…He walked in, and he saw everybody sitting there, and he went, ‘Aw, f*ck this.’ And he walked out. Everybody went, ‘Jimmy, Jimmy!’ And he turned to me and he went, ‘Fire me,’ and he left.”
Obviously it would have been a reckless move to fire Gandolfini from The Sopranos and he knew that. Without Tony, there’s no show. And without Gandolfini, a lot of people are out of work. While some of Gandolfini’s behavior might come off brash, it has been noted on numerous occasions just how well he treated his co-stars. When he landed a massive contract with HBO, he spread the wealth, doling out $30,000 to most of the team. After all, those who want respect, give respect.
Have you caught Wise Guy on Max yet? Where does The Sopranos rank in your list of favorite TV shows? Be the strong – but not silent – type and leave your comments below.