John Turturro Remembers His Friend James Gandolfini: ‘He Had A Lot Of Self-Doubt, Sometimes Self-Loathing’ – INTERVIEW

Before taking over James Gandolfini’s role in HBO’s The Night Of, John Turturro wanted to make sure the late actor’s wife felt comfortable with him doing it. Once he got her bless, he felt the extra push he needed to take on the eventually acclaimed crime drama.

Speaking to BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast while promoting The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, beloved actor and director John Turturro reflected on his relationship with the late James Gandolfini, whom he had previously directed in Romance & Cigarettes.

Having worked closely with him, Turturro had seen firsthand the vulnerability beneath the imposing presence that made Gandolfini such a compelling performer, and described Gandolfini as a complex man with a surprising delicacy, as well as someone who struggled with self-doubt.

When it came to playing attorney John Stone in The Night Of, however, he also wanted to establish that he could make the character his own.

ERIC ITALIANO, BROBIBLE: Your performance in that show moves me to no end, and I think it highlights something that you do in this film as well. It’s bringing this warmth to wounded, imperfect people that you find yourself desperately rooting for, even when they make the wrong choices.

Coincidentally, that’s a characteristic that James had too. You, of course, not only took over this role from him, but also directed him in Romance & Cigarettes. I’m curious: What do you think allowed him to make even his most intimidating characters feel so vulnerable? And do you see any connection between you two as performers in that sense?

John Turturro: Well, James really didn’t do very much of the role. He did, like, one day, and he had a deal there. Zaillian had known me. He wanted me to be in Bobby Fischer, and he actually told me when he was writing it, he thought about me, but James had the deal.

I said, “Well, I’ve got to see the pilot,” and James was barely in it. I talked to his wife. I read everything. I said, “He didn’t do anything really yet, so I can make this my own.”

It was brilliantly written by Richard Price and Steve Zaillian, but James had a delicacy to him and a vulnerability. He had a femininity in him too. And that’s why I cast him in Romance & Cigarettes, because I didn’t want to be the lead. It was just too hard to do. And I thought he did a wonderful job.

I had to push him at times and things, but he had a lot of self-doubt, sometimes self-loathing and stuff. He was a complex guy and didn’t always take care of himself. But before I did The Night Of, I asked his wife. I said, “I want you to feel good about me doing it.” She said, “Oh, we want you to do it.” So that gave me extra oomph to do it. But it was brilliantly written.

James had that contradiction — these are people who are wounded, and they make something of their lives. The guy in The Night Of was completely capable of being a great lawyer, but he didn’t have the constitution for it, the stomach for it. Some people have the stomach, and they’re not that smart, and he was.

I would have loved to have done even another case with that, but they could never agree, even though HBO wanted to. But that’s something I’m very proud of. I mean, the whole cast is great, and it was a character that I could have just… Once I did so much research and stuff like that, something happened, and I just got lost in it. I shot for like eight months.

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York will begin a limited theatrical release in Los Angeles and New York City on October 23, then expand nationwide a week later.

In addition to Turturro, the film also stars Giancarlo Esposito, Tatiana Maslany, Steve Buscemi, and Jamie Lee Curtis. You can check out the official trailer below.