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James Gandolfini's Son Michael Admits Feeling the Pressure of Playing Tony Soprano

By Rodolfo Vieira

Sep 25, 2021

07:20 A.M.

Michael Gandolfini is literally following in his father's footsteps as he has the massive responsibility of playing a young Tony Soprano in "The Many Saints of Newark."

According to the 22-year-old, it is no easy job to bring the famous mob boss to life once more after his father, the late James Gandolfini, managed to transform the character into a television icon.

Recently, during an interview with the New York Times, Michael revealed he does feel the pressure of playing Tony, even if it's a younger version of the mobster.

James Gandolfini (left) and son Michael Gandolfini (right) | Photo: Getty Images

BIG SHOES TO FILL

The actor, who was just 14 years old when his father passed away from a heart attack during a family vacation in Rome, Italy, claimed that there is also fear associated with the role.

Michael was the one who found the late actor in distress in the bathroom.

Michael Gandolfini as a young "Tony Soprano" on the set of "The Many Saints of Newark" in New York City | Photo: Bobby Bank/GC Images via Getty Images

Michael described the character as a "hard" one since most people believed that the difficulty would be playing Tony as well as his father did from 1999 to 2007.

The young star said that, in order to prepare for the film, he watched and studied every single episode of the first season of the show, which he had never watched before.

From left to right: Tony Sirico, Steven Van Zandt, James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli & Vincent Pastore in a publicity still for HBO's "The Sopranos" | Photo: Anthony Neste/Getty Images

A PROUD SON

Michael admitted he didn't get much from what he saw, except the feeling of "deep pride" in his father. As for the character, it was a complete blank. He said:

"Maybe I could know how to play my dad. But I don't know how to play Tony. I have to create my own Tony from my life and still play the things that made him Tony."

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It has been reported that the film will be a prequel to "The Sopranos" and will feature several young versions of characters from the beloved TV show, such as Livia Soprano, Johnny Boy, and Paulie Gualtieri.

As aforementioned, James died of a heart attack, with the results of the autopsy confirming the cause of death and stating that nothing out of the ordinary had been found in his system.

Michael was the one who found the late actor in distress in the bathroom of the hotel and immediately called the hotel staff for help. Despite having worked on the actor for 40 minutes, doctors weren't able to save him.