James played a great Tony Soprano but when he tried to play something totally different he was not that good an actor. He was in a Sean Penn movie about Huey Long and played a good ole boy southern politician. He was terrible. He was good in Tarantino’s True Romance but he was basically playing the same Tony Soprano character.
He actually had a pretty good career that started as a character actor in the late 1980s.
I thought he was really good in “Get Shorty” as Bear(1995). The stunt man/enforcer. Of course, Get Shorty was a great movie and book. Hey “look at me”.
He was very good in “Enough said” with Julia Drefuss, I really enjoyed the movie although I only watched it to make my wife happy. [Chick flic night].
In 2001, he had a major role in “The Last Castle”.
Of course, that was in the middle of his fame as Tony Soprano. But IMHO, it was a good movie and he did the role as a military prison warden well.
Please see: “Get Shorty” script by Scott Frank, really true to the classic Elmore Leonard book of the same name.
James Gandolfini introduced in this movie as a stuntman named “Bear” (with a great accent and a cute little girl, single dad) who gets thrown down stairs and beaten up by Chili Palmer (John Travolta) and aligns himself on the side of the good guys to get rid of a limo driver thug, pitching him down a hollywood ravine from the back terrace. Gandolfini well played and developed a likable regular guy who finds his backbone and does right. Fantastic
The humor and the lines in this movie— are really legendary. Others supporting roles: Gene Hackman- outstanding, Danny DeVito (playing the actual “shorty” who was, according to Leonard, Dustin Hoffman “when you can’t get anyone else get shorty”; Renee Russo, Dennis Farina, and Delroy Lindo, Harvey Keitel, Penny Marshall(!),Bette Midler playing who she has always been, and brilliant bit part by legendary Vito Scotti as the manager at Vesuivio’s. And great Miguel Sandoval as.. Pablo Escobar (later seen in Clear and Present Danger).
Line Quotes in history:
“Where’s Leo Devoe, where’s Chili Palmer, and where’s my (f-—) money?” and Hackman’s classic “Look at me....! which gets him a beat down. Other cult phrases all from Leonard’s writing: “What’ve you got there a Wop 9, the Fiat of guns always jamming!”.... “Eg., ie. f you!”..
The film will lighten your day (if one can follow the street lingo) if anything Elmore Leonard ever wrote would (Hombre, 3:10 to Yuma, Mr. Majestyk, Stick, and.. Jackie Brown among them).
I think his scenes in True Romance are the reason he got the Tony Soprano role. He was excellent in both.
He played a general in “In the Loop.” A reviewer said it was impossible for a real general to act like Gandalfini’s general. There was too much “Tony Soprano” in the character.