sopranos" by a teacher in our school. but he gave our students that night pure gold and it was technically what you would expect from somebody like, say, pacino or from any actor who has mastered his craft. that was the astonishing thing about him. he made it look easy. all great actors make it look easy. people thought, that's james gandolfini, he's not acting. yes, he was. and he was acting brilliantly. he was an amazing actor. >> mark halperin, you got to watch more tv than most people got to, what was it about him that made him larger than life? why was he so well liked by the actors and actresses he worked with? >> he was a very nice man, he was a very shy man. if you have seen his episodes of "inside the actors studio" you would know he's very shy and very decent and very generous.