James Gandolfini gave his Sopranos co-stars £25,000 each after his contract dispute with HBO, book says
Actor gave the gift as a thank you to his castmates for ‘sticking by me’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Sopranos star James Gandolfini gave his co-stars a big bonus, according to a new book about HBO.
The late actor, who played Tony Soprano across the show’s six seasons, reportedly gave his co-stars $33,000 (£25,000) each after his contract dispute with HBO.
As noted by People magazine, James Andrew Miller’s book –Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers – draws a connection between Gandolfini’s generous decision and his negotiations for higher pay that almost shut down production on the award-winning series.
As per Miller’s book, Gandolfini was originally paid $5m (£3.7m) per season under a six-year contract. This amount was doubled to $10m (£7.4m) after season three in 2001.
Gandolfini, however, reportedly asked for $20m (£15m), citing actors from other hit 2000s shows including Kelsey Grammar from Frasier, who was paid more than $35m (£26m).
Following intense negotiations, HBO agreed to pay the actor $1m (£742,165) per episode. This translated to $13m (£9.6m) per season.
According to the book, Gandolfini agreed to the number – in spite of it being much less than he had originally wanted – because of his fellow Sopranos cast.
The ongoing contract negotiations threatened to halt production on the series, which would have resulted in many of the show’s cast and crew being unemployed.
“That was the third rail for Gandolfini. He cared too much about everyone else to let them all collapse around him,” Miller wrote in Tinderbox.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Gandolfini proceeded to give a gift of $33,000 (£25,000) to 16 of his co-stars. This meant the actor shared more than $500,000 (£371,000) of his $13m (£9.5m) contract with his cast mates.
Sopranos star Steve Schirripa (who played Bobby Baccalieri aka Bobby Bacala) has previously spoken about this generous gift from Gandolfini.
During a 2013 radio appearance, Schirripa said: “As good an actor as he was, he was a better guy. A generous guy. The guy gave us $33,000 each – 16 people.
“In season four he called every one of the regular cast members and gave us a cheque. He said, ‘Thanks for sticking by me.’ It’s like buying 16 people a car.”
Gandolfini died in June 2013 aged 51 from cardiac arrest.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments