More than a decade after his sudden passing, James Gandolfini still exerts a powerful pull on television and film enthusiasts around the world. His charismatic portrayal of complex, flawed, but always human men illuminated the contradictions in all of us, as well as our potential for grace, and the power of love and family. This new biography from Bailey is based on extensive research and original reporting, including interviews with friends and collaborators.

In GANDOLFINI, Bailey traces the twinned stories of the man and the unforgettable roles he played. Gandolfini’s roots were working class, raised in northern New Jersey as the son of Italian immigrants, and acting was something he loved for a long time before he could see it as a career. It wasn’t until he was well into his bohemian twenties that he dedicated himself to a life on the stage and screen.

Bailey follows Gandolfini’s rise, from bit parts to character roles he enlivened with menace and vulnerability, to Tony Soprano, the breakout role that would make him a legend, and onto a post-Sopranos career in which he continued to challenge himself and his audience. The result is the definitive biography on the man behind Tony Soprano and the actor beyond that one role.

Jason Bailey is a film critic and historian and the author of six books, including Fun City Cinema: New York City and the Movies That Made It, Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino’s Masterpiece, and his latest, Jim and Tony: The Life and Art of James Gandolfini, out in April 2025 from ABRAMS Press. A graduate of NYU’s Cultural Reporting and Criticism program, his essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, Vulture, Rolling Stone, The Playlist, Slate, TIME, and more. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and the Critics Choice Association, the editor-in-chief of Crooked Marquee, and co-host of the podcasts “Guide for the Film Fanatic,” ”A Very Good Year” and “Fun City Cinema.”