Michael Gandolfini (born May 10, 1999) is an American actor. Gandolfini made his film debut in ''

Ocean's 8 ''Ocean's Eight'' (stylized onscreen as ''Ocean's 8'') is a 2018 American heist action thriller comedy film directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is both a continuation of and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's ...

'' (2018) and appeared in ''

The Many Saints of Newark ''The Many Saints of Newark'' (marketed with the subtitle ''A Sopranos Story'') is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner. A prequel to Chase's HBO crime drama series ''The So ...

'' (2021), in which he played the role of

Tony Soprano Anthony John Soprano is a fictional character and the antihero protagonist in the HBO television drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), portrayed by James Gandolfini. Soprano is a member of the American Mafia, Italian-American Mafia and, ...

, which was originally portrayed by his late father

James Gandolfini James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. (; September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) was an American actor. For his role as Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'', he won three Emmy Awards, five Scree ...

in the television series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

''.

Early life

Gandolfini was born on May 10, 1999, in New York City to actor

and Marcy Wudarski. He is of Italian, Polish, and Slovak heritage, and has a younger half-sister from his father's second marriage. While he was a teenager Gandolfini enjoyed performing, but his father advised against an acting career instead wanting him to pursue sports or "be a director. They have the power," he said. James Gandolfini died unexpectedly at the age of 51 of a heart attack in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on June 19, 2013.

Career

After his father's death Michael Gandolfini decided to pursue acting. He enrolled at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

after graduating from high school. After early auditions, he was cast in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

drama series '' The Deuce'' as Joey Dwyer. In 2019, he was cast in ''

'' to play the young version of

, the role played by his father in the television series ''

''. Gandolfini had never watched the show. He described watching it while preparing for the role as an intense process. He was later cast in the

Russo brothers Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers (), are American directors, producers, and screenwriters. They direct most of their work together. They are best known for dir ...

’ crime drama ''

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandolfini, Michael 1999 births Living people 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male models American male film actors American male television actors American people of Italian descent American people of Polish descent Male actors from New York City New York University alumni