James Gandolfini’s Son Reveals Why He Was Banned From ‘Sopranos’ Set

Lauren Novak April 21, 3:30 pm

James and Michael Gandolfini Sopranos — HBO/Everett Collection; Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images

Michael Gandolfini, the only son of James Gandolfini, literally grew up at the height of his father’s fame: He was born the same year that his father’s groundbreaking drama The Sopranos premiered on television. Michael sometimes got to visit his father as he worked, but he was not allowed on the set for several reasons. Gandolfini’s desire to keep his son away from the show’s graphic violence and foul language are fairly obvious — but he also kept Michael away from set because he wanted to make sure his son made his own career decisions, rather than choosing to become an actor because he was too involved in his father’s career.

Michael told The Wall Street Journal that as he got older, “I already understood the idea of filmmaking and wanted to be a part of it. Being excluded on set drove me crazy. My parents were protective and wanted me to enjoy being a kid. From my father’s perspective, if I was going to follow him into the business, he wanted me to discover acting on my own.”

Actor James Gandolfini and son Michael Gandolfini seen Trick-or-Treating in the West Village on October 31, 2008 in New York City

Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic/Getty Images

While Michael did eventually pursue acting after attending NYU and doing some plays in high school, sadly his father never got to see his career flourish. James died in 2013 from a heart attack while on family vacation; Michael was just 13 at at the time.

However, Michael got to feel close with his father again when he played a young Tony Soprano, the role that made James famous, in The Many Saints of Newark. He has also appeared in Ocean’s 8, Bob Marley: One Love and most recently the series Daredevil: Born Again, proving he is just getting started.

THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK, from left: Michael Gandolfini, Alessandro Nivola, 2021

Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros./Everett Collection

Michael said of his role in The Many Saints of Newark, “The Many Saints of Newark was a transformative role. To play Tony as a teen, I had to get a full sense of him, but I’d never watched an episode of The Sopranos. Going through the series to prep wasn’t like watching home movies. Tony was a role, and there were many layers to what my dad was doing with the character.”