Brad Pitt Reacts To Co-Star James Gandolfini Death: 'Gutted By This Loss,' Actor Says
Brad Pitt, who played alongside James Gandolfini in several films, reacted to the actor's sudden death on Wednesday in Rome, Italy.
"I admire Jimmy as a ferocious actor, a gentle soul and a genuinely funny man," Pitt told JustJared.com in a statement on Thursday. "I am fortunate to have sat across the table from him and am gutted by this loss. I wish his family strength and some semblance of peace."
The 49-year-old actor starred with Gandolfini in Killing Them Softly, which was released in 2012. Almost 10 years prior to that role, Pitt also played with Gandolfini in The Mexican, a 2001 film that also starred Jullia Roberts.
Notably, the two worked together in the 1993 film True Romance. The film is considered Gandolfini's breakthrough role, before he played the Italian-American mob boss Tony Soprano on the HBO hit series The Sopranos, from 1999 to 2007. The show earned Gandolfini three Emmys.
In past interviews, the show's cast also spoke highly of working with Gandolfini.
"Every time you go and do a scene with this guy, he manages to give 105 percent. That rubs off. That makes you work harder," cast member Michael Imperioli, who played Tony's nephew Christopher Moltisanti, told Fox in a 2007 interview.
"I had the greatest sparring partner in the world, I had Muhammad Ali," said Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony's psychiatrist Dr. Melfi. "He cares what he does, and does it extremely well."
After his death, cast members also took time to remember the star.
"I have lost a brother and a best friend. The world has lost one of the greatest actors of all time," Steven Van Zandt wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
Van Zandt, who played Silvio Dante on The Sopranos, also tweeted, "Maureen and I send our deepest sympathy and love to Deborah, Michael, Lily, and all of Jimmy's family."
Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Tony's daughter Meadow Soprano on the show, also mourned his loss.
"This news has left me heartbroken," she said in a statement on Thursday. "I treasure my memories with him and feel so honored that I was an up close witness to his greatness."
