I have no idea whether Gandolfini was a pleasure to work with, as his co-stars say. All I know is that The Sopranos would never have gone anywhere without him. Bad episodes, bad writing, bad storylines (and there were some) - none of it mattered. People tuned in to see Gandolfini play Tony Soprano - his moments of tenderness, the comedic moments of stupidity, even his brutality and viciousness, which only escalated as the show progressed. Gandolfini made Tony Soprano an indelible figure in American TV - again, that show would have gone nowhere without him.
He didn’t play Tony Soprano, he was Tony Soprano.
ABSOLUTELY and POSITIVELY 1000% TRUE!