It’s safe to say that the lateJames Gandolfiniwasn’t messing around while filminghis iconicSopranosbeatdown scene.
“I’m out front on a bench smoking a cigarette with Jimmy after we’d just done this read-through. And I think we’re trying to get to know each other a little bit because, you know, we’re supposed to be high school buddies,” he said. “And if I remember it correctly, the conversation was kind of winding up. I said something to him like, ‘Hey listen. You know, when we do the scene where you come for the money, you better bring your f—— A-game.'”
“He gave me a look and he had a cigarette and he went, ‘Oh, I’ll bring my f—— A-game,'” Patrick added.
Patrick next saw Gandolfini on the day they were scheduled to film the beat-up scene.
“He said, ‘How’s your balls?’ … I looked at him and I said, ‘They’re good.’ And he said, ‘I’m hungover, let’s do this f—— scene,'” Patrick said. “And man, it was one take. We kind of went through what he was going to do [beforehand]. He was going to grab me and he was going to throw me around, and I’m going to start crying like a little girl. And I got to tell you, he scared the living s— out of me man. I mean, I was so intimidated.”
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Patrick, nonetheless, still considered it to be a “fantastic experience.” He added, “I thinkThe Sopranosis definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Gandolfini played Italian-American crime boss Tony Soprano onThe Sopranos. The HBO series ran from 1999 to 2007 for six seasons.
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in HBO’sThe Sopranos.Anthony Neste/Getty
Gandolfini died in 2013 at age 51 while vacationing in Rome. Anautopsy revealedhe died of a heart attack.
This October, Gandolfini’s son,Michael Gandolfini, will play a young Tony Soprano in a prequel film, titledThe Many Saints of Newark.
Gandolfini’s widowDeborah Linrecently reacted to seeing her stepson tackling his father’s former role.
“It was almost surreal to see Michael in the trailer,” Lin toldThe New York Post. “I know ittook a lot of courage for him to take this role. It was very emotional. But the whole family is just so proud of him. His father would be very proud.”
source: people.com
