R.I.P. James Gandolfini

If Lucas Jackson from Cool Hand Luke (played by the inimicable Paul Newman) is my favourite movie character of all time, Tony Soprano is my number one when it comes to TV. Having spent a fair bit of my first year at university watching The Sopranos and completing all six seasons within a modest duration, I couldn't help but become attached to the series' protagonist. Machiavellian may perhaps be used to describe the mob boss but like Michael Corleone in the Godfather trilogy, Tony was a character I found myself easily sympathising with. I would go further to posit that Tony's humane, everyman quality - so capably portrayed by James Gandolfini - made him more likeable than he was detestable. There were many times when I felt that I could relate to Tony Soprano. I found myself able to, in varying degrees of course, feel his anger, sorrow and joy (for lack of a better word as this last quality may arguably have eluded him). Because of this, and the amount of time I had spent with him, the character remains an indelible one to me. There's little that I enjoy more on the screen than well-crafted characters and although credit should always be given to the writers, it is equally important to appreciate that it is upon the actor that the burden of interpretation falls. Many others who've watched the series will probably agree with me and this bears testimony to Gandolfini's genius as an actor. To read of his passing evoked a sadness in me and it's amazing how the death of artists can impact people who've never actually met them. The first person whose passing drew tears from me was Newman. To not have actually met someone does not mean to not have interacted with them. Every character is a fruit borne by the actor/actress and his/her person and my attachment to Tony Soprano must have resulted from an interaction with the character, and in extension, Jim Gandolfini himself. I'm sure that Gandolfini was as good a person as he was an actor as Matt Zoller Seitz opines and many in the TV/film industry must be mourning his passing. On a personal level, while feeling sad that I'll no longer get to see him in new roles (I've also watched a films like True Romance and The Man Who Wasn't There), I'm also thankful that he gave the world Tony Soprano, a TV character that has claimed a status of immortality on the screen. Therefore, actors like Gandolfini never really die. R.I.P., Big Man.