HBO Executive Remembers Issues With James Gandolfini While Filming Sopranos

Former HBO CEO Jeff Bewkes told James Andrew Miller in his new book, Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers, that some network executives were worried about James Gandolfini‘s well-being while filming, per Insider.

“We were concerned about Gandolfini staying alive. Occasionally he would go on a bender or a coke binge. We had to stop production,” former HBO CEO Jeff Bewkes told the journalist James Andrew Miller. “It cost a lot of money and was hard on the other actors’ schedules.”

Bewkes recalled to Miller how Gandolfini treated him “like the dad or the boss” when he attended awards shows with Gandolfini and fellow “Sopranos” stars Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco.

Ex-CEO Chris Albrecht called the network’s relationship to Gandolfini a “love-hate thing.”

“We had an intervention with him in my apartment in New York. The intervention wasn’t my idea. I think his family’s idea because his sister was there. It was definitely a crisis situation.”

Albrecht told Miller that he doesn’t recall “being worried he was going to die,” but said there was more of a growing concern over his “lack of respect for the other actors.” This behavior of his put the other cast members at unease. Most of them would get frustrated over the disruptive personality of his.

Gandolfini even threatened to fire Albrecht from The Sopranos while walking out of the intervention. No matter how well the show has been doing it is absolutely unacceptable the way Gandolfini behaves around the set. Such indiscipline and rash actions would make the vibe of the whole cast and set foul.