Jamie Lynn Sigler he clearly remembers his last conversation with her The Sopranos Father of costar and TV, James Gandolfini.
“We were in a casino,” Sigler, 44, said to himself Us Weekly in his latest story promoting his upcoming book, And So It Is…: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope. “He looked at me and said, ‘Do you need help walking?’ And I was like, ‘I’m fine right now.’ He said, ‘Okay, tell me when you say it.’ And I was like, ‘I’ll do it.’
Gandolfini – who played Mafia boss Tony Soprano, the father of Sigler’s character, Meadow – was the only cast member on the hit HBO drama who knew the actor had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
“I remember him being proud, like, ‘Okay, look at you. You’re still doing this. You’ve got this,’ ” he recalled of the duo’s final run. “It was a good time that I am very grateful to have because it is clear that his death shocked us all.”
Gandolfini died of a heart attack while visiting Italy with his family in 2013. He was only 51 years old.
“I just remember how happy he was,” Sigler said Us of his late partner. “I was very happy to see him at a beautiful wedding [to Deborah Lin]in a good place in his life, doing things he really loved.”
James Gandolfini and Jamie Lynn Sigler
Stephen Shugerman/Getty ImagesThe “gentle” and “caring” Gandolfini Sigler knew that off-screen was very different from the tough guy he played on the set of their crime drama, which aired from 1999 to 2007.
“Playing Tony Soprano was very difficult for him,” he commented on the actor. “It was devastating in so many ways. He gave himself to her, obviously, so to see him so stable and happy just made me so happy. He was always our father. He was our pillar. He was our rock. But we also saw him struggle, and we saw him go through some very difficult times. And so it was almost like the same moment that he and I were both like, ‘Look at us right now.’
The Sopranos premiered on HBO in January 1999, and throughout its six seasons it introduced viewers to the actors who would eventually become superstars. The late James Gandolfini starred as New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano throughout the epic series. Fans brought Tony and his family – Carmela Soprano (Edie […]
Sigler was diagnosed with MS in her mid-20s The Sopranos‘ six-season run. At first, he chose to keep his health battle a secret.
“I felt like I was always pretending. I felt like I was always pretending. I felt like I was always living a lie,” he admitted. Us. “I didn’t know what authenticity felt like. I didn’t know what the truth felt like. … I didn’t even know who I was. All these secrets were piled on top of me just running out of breath and trying to live every day. I was always in fight or flight.”
Sigler recalled that Gandolfini heard that something was going on with his costar.
“He had this way about him where it was almost like he would look at me long enough to say, ‘I know. I know something’s going on,'” he said. “And he would press me, look at me, ‘How are you?’ And I was like, ‘I’m good.’ And he just looked at me and nodded.”
James Gandolfini was remembered by his former Sopranos cast members as they revisited the success of the HBO show in a two-part documentary titled Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos. Released on HBO on Saturday, September 7, the film features director Alex Gibney sitting down with the show’s creator, David Chase, […]
Finally, Sigler decided to confide in his TV father, and the actor kept his secret until the end. (Sigler went public with his health problems in 2016, nearly three years after Gandolfini’s death.)
“He knew that I would no longer be able to carry whatever I was carrying on my own, and he never asked me about it again,” she said. “Sometimes when we’re not together, he’d ask me about it. If we were at a cast party or a charity event or some appearance, he’d pull me aside and say, ‘How’s the MS? Tell me what’s going on.’ But never at work, never in front of anyone.”
Sigler added, “I don’t know if he knew this, but just being with someone [on set] know it was a game changer. It definitely changed a lot of energy for me there, just knowing that someone knows my secret and I’m not alone in this.”
And So It Is…: A Memoir of Acceptance and Hope hits bookstores Tuesday, May 5.
