Michael Gandolfini has only sweet memories of his late father, James Gandolfini.
“To me, he was just my dad, my goofy, lovely dad,” Michael, 24, told Pvnew exclusively at the 25th anniversary party for “The Sopranos” Wednesday night.
James, who starred as mobster Tony Soprano in the critically acclaimed HBO show, died of a heart attack at the age of 51 in 2013 when his son was just 14.
“My memories on set are of me in the trailer doing my homework,” Michael told us. “And my dad would walk in and sit on a chair in his robe [while I was] just doing my homework. I was just happy to be with him and hang out with him.”
Michael shared that he knew his dad wasn’t like other people.
“I knew something was different my whole life,” he explained. “Like, people would come up to him and treat him differently, and I never knew why, but he did a great job of always explaining, ‘I just wear silly clothes and have a silly accent and play dress-up for a living, and we’re all just people.'”
It’s something the late actor carried through on set.
Aida Turturro, who played Tony’s sister Janice Soprano, told Pvnew that James encouraged a “general sense of camaraderie” on set and “a feeling of people supporting each other.”
“There was no jealousy, and it all stemmed from Jimmy,” Turturro, 61, added. “I think that’s what made it happen because it was about, we’re all together.”
Kathrine Narducci, who played Charmaine Bucco, the no-nonsense wife of Nuovo Vesuvio chef Artie Bucco (John Ventimiglia), fondly remembered James, too.
Narducci, 58, recalled attending the Golden Globe Awards one year and receiving a special present from her beloved co-star.
“He gave us all gold watches as gifts,” she shared. “He took us to a backroom before we went onstage, and with a security guard with a duffel bag filled with gold watches, and gave each one of us our own personal gold watch.”
Michael has followed in his father’s footsteps, playing the role of a young Tony Soprano in the 2021 movie “The Many Saints of Newark.”
He shared that he is currently watching the entire series again with his girlfriend, “The Wilds” actress Mia Healey.
“It’s been so much fun to share it with someone,” he enthused to us. “It’s such a fun gift, an amazing thing to do.”
Other “Sopranos” alums at the bash, which was held at Da Nico in Little Italy, included Lorraine Bracco, Steven Van Zandt and his wife, Maureen Van Zandt, Federico Castelluccio, Vincent Pastore and Steve Schirripa.
