James Gandolfini’s TV Debut Was In This Forgotten ’90s Series With A Star

The late James Gandolfini will always be remembered for his role as Tony Soprano, but the actor has quite the diverse resume. After making his Broadway debut in 1992, the Emmy-winning actor went on to star in a string of films, including “True Romance” and “Crimson Tide.” Branching out to television in 1997, Gandolfini made his first appearance in the medium with “Gun,” the ABC anthology series that only lasted six episodes before being canceled.

“Gun” follows the fate of a single .45 semi-automatic pistol and the different individuals who wield it in every episode. Produced by Robert Altman, “Gun” features a revolving door of characters played by notable stars, including Kathy Baker, Carrie Fisher, Daryl Hannah, and Martin Sheen.

Gandolfini stars in Episode 3, titled “Columbus Day,” in which housewife Lilly (Rosanna Arquette) has an affair with an author while her overprotective husband Walter (Gandolfini) owns a gun that could serve as key evidence in a case. Walter is similar to Tony Soprano in some ways, such as sporting a quick-tempered nature and immense hubris about being infallible. Conversely, Walter remains conscious about legality and is honest to a fault, painting the picture of a character that feels like a precursor to a legendary Gandolfini performance.

Gun was just the beginning of James Gandolfini’s robust TV career

Reasons behind the cancellation of “Gun” remain unclear, but its short-lived nature could be due to its inability to meet a ratings threshold. After “Gun,” James Gandolfini went on to star in the made-for-TV adaptation of “12 Angry Men,” eventually landing his career-defining role in “The Sopranos,” which ran until 2007 and is considered the best gangster TV show of all time.

Although Gandolfini only appeared in a handful of television films after this (such as “Nicky Deuce” and “The Night Of”), Tony Soprano served as the blueprint for antihero characters like Don Draper from “Mad Men” or Walter White from “Breaking Bad.” Gandolfini brought a tremendous amount of nuance to the role, elevating it into one of the greatest dramatic performances in television history.

In the realm of cinema, Gandolfini appeared in a wide range of projects, including “All the King’s Men,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” and the 2013 romantic comedy, “Enough Said.” He also produced HBO’s “Hemingway & Gellhorn,” which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding miniseries or movie. For his depiction of Tony Soprano alone, Gandolfini won three Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe Award for best actor — television series drama.

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