Cliff Notes – James Gandolfini’s blunt reply to being fined $250,000 a day on The Sopranos
- James Gandolfini faced fines of $250,000 per day for skipping filming on The Sopranos, a situation that began in the show’s third season and persisted throughout production.
- His absences were attributed to personal struggles and the immense pressure of portraying Tony Soprano, leading to a supportive environment among cast and crew to help him cope.
James Gandolfini’s blunt reply to being ‘fined $250,000 a day’ on The Sopranos
The Sopranos bosses would fine James Gandolfini $250,000 a day when he was would skip filming on the iconic series, a new book has revealed.
The late actor, who died in 2013 at the age of 51, played Tony Soprano on the acclaimed HBO series, alongside Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli and Tony Sirico.
He won 19 awards for the role, including three Emmys and two Golden Globes, and landed almost 60 nominations for the drama, which ran for six seasons between 1999 and 2007.
However, Gandolfini battled personal demons amid the stress of the role, and began partying harder to blow off steam, and his struggles have been explored in a new offering from author Jason Bailey.
In Gandolfini: Jim, Tony and the Life of a Legend, the writer delved into his frequent no-shows while filming, and the impact the series had on the star.
According to an extract from the book, obtained by Vanity Fair, his absences started from the third season, and continued for the remainder of production.
At one point, TV bosses would fine him $250,000 a day when he didn’t make it to set, with his colleagues rallying around to support him through tough patches.
‘I can’t say I’ve ever been on a show where something like that has gone on, but this was a different beast,’ cinematographer Phil Abraham said. ‘At a certain point, HBO was fining him $250k a day. And he would say, “F**k it. I can’t come in to work.”
‘So we knew then, it’s not just him doing a lot of blow and drinking, and he’s not getting up because he doesn’t want to get up. No, it was deeper than that.’
The Sopranos is regularly branded one of the best shows of all time, with the crime drama following mobster Tony Soprano as he struggles to maintain both his criminal deeds and his position as the head of his family.
After having a panic attack, he turns to regular therapy sessions with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine), to find balance.
While the series was met with huge applause, many of Gandolfini’s former castmates shared that he often wanted to leave the program.
Steven Van Zandt, who played Silvio Dante, revealed he spent most of his time ‘talking him into coming back the next day’, recalling that they would have that conversation ‘at least once a month’.
He explained that he would remind the late star how lucky they were to have such a huge opportunity, and how many people in the crew were relying on him for their own jobs.
‘He would sometimes take a few days off, whatever,’ he said. ‘But he always came back. He always came back, and he was the most generous guy in the world.’
Bailey’s book reported that the reasons for Gandolfini’s absences varied from avoiding a difficult scene, to his rollercoaster, partying lifestyle.
In the times that he would make it to the set, those behind the cameras would stick to a ‘contingency plan’, in which different shots were filmed simultaneously, so that they could keep things on schedule.
They insisted that this didn’t happen ‘a lot’, but the producers were ‘ready for it’ when it did.
‘It wasn’t necessarily always like, he went out drinking that night and then disappeared. I mean, it was that a lot,’ cinematographer Phil Abraham said. ‘But I know that playing this character was a huge burden on this guy.
‘He was not this person. And yet he needed a release – it’s almost like the noise in his head was probably too much. Now, whether or not that’s the way one does it…’
‘The guy was such a workaholic and put so much pressure on himself,’ executive producer Ilene Landress added.
‘Jimmy was never going to give you a B performance. He was always going to give you an A performance. And if he felt like he couldn’t give an A performance, he was so hard on himself.’
Last year marked the 25-year anniversary since the Sopranos first aired, with Bracco and Imperioli appearing on stage at the Emmys to commemorate the milestone.
Bracco, who shared many intense scenes with Gandolfini, shared how much she missed her former co-star in a candid chat with People Magazine.
‘I always think about him,’ she told People, remembering how he was always ‘very serious’ in character, but would become a ‘maniac’ when cameras stopped rolling.
‘Oh my God. He would make such jokes, he would fool around, he would dance around. He was very fun.’