Edie Falco mourned the sudden passing of onscreen husband James Gandolfini today, and said that it was difficult to separate the love affair her character had with his from real life sometimes.
“It was weird to sit down at a table read with the actresses playing Tony’s girlfriends,” she told The Daily Mail. “Occasionally I would get a sharp twinge at the back of my neck, because, especially if I’m tired, the emotional lines would bleed into each other and I’d have to kind of keep my bearings and remember, No, no, no, this is your job, and at home you have your life. Even years later, I remember when I saw Jim in God of Carnage on Broadway, and he was Marcia Gay Harden’s husband, and I had this “How come I have to be O.K. with this?” kind of feeling.”
Indeed, Gandolfini said once that he would always be in love with his television wife.
“I’m still in love with Edie. And, of course, I love my wife, but I’m in love with Edie. I don’t know if I’m in love with Carmela or Edie or both. I’m in love with her,” he said in a Vanity Fair interview.
Gandolfini succumbed to a massive heart attack on Wednesday while on vacation in Italy, and since news broke, social media sites have been flooded with mentions of the actor who brought a troubled but lovable mob boss to life on “The Sopranos” and had a colorful career in film. Despite Tony Soprano’s adulterous ways and fathomless anger, Falco said that the love he shared with his wife was remarkable.
“The love between Tony and Carmela was one of the greatest I’ve ever known,” she said. “I am shocked and devastated by Jim’s passing. He was a man of tremendous depth and sensitivity, with a kindness and generosity beyond words. I consider myself very lucky to have spent 10 years as his close colleague. My heart goes out to his family.”