Why James Gandolfini ‘Drove’ Son Michael ‘Crazy’ on ‘The Sopranos’ Set

Michael Gandolfini may have grown up with a famous father, but fame was never normalized in his household.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the 25-year-old son of late Sopranos star James Gandolfini revealed why he was always forced to watch his dad portray Tony Soprano from a distance as a kid.

“When I’d visit him on the Sopranos set, I’d hang out in his trailer,” said Michael. “I had my own little drawer of toys and things to keep me occupied. My parents didn’t want me outside on set, exposed to the show’s violence and language.”

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For Michael, having an understanding of “the idea of filmmaking” only made his desire to be part of it even stronger.

“Being excluded on set drove me crazy. My parents were protective and wanted me to enjoy being a kid,” he said. “From my father’s perspective, if I was going to follow him into the business, he wanted me to discover acting on my own.”

The Sopranos ran for six seasons, from January 1999 until June 2007. Six years after its end, James died of a heart attack at the age of 51 in June 2013.

Michael would ultimately go on to pursue acting, appearing in projects like Daredevil: Born Again and even playing a younger version of Tony Soprano in the 2021 prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark.

The role was something he told The Wall Street Journal was “transformative” for more reasons than one.

“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,” he said.

“Tony was a role, and there were many layers to what my dad was doing with the character,” continued Michael.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight in February, Michael weighed in on the possibility of a Sopranos prequel series.

Referencing show creator, David Chase, he said, “Look, it’s David’s universe. It’s up to David, ultimately. I know that David’s working on some other things, not Sopranos related, which would be exciting.”

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While he said that he would “love” to work with Chase, 79, again, he confessed, “I think Tony’s probably set to rest now for good,” further adding, “my guess would be, that character [has] now closed the book.”