i m nothing. shut up! more now on the untimely passing of actor james gandolfini. reactions and statements pouring in from many of those who worked with him. one of those who gandolfini worked closely with was creator of the sopranos, david chase. now, he issued a statement saying this. he was a genius. anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that. he is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. chase admitted that gandolfini wasn t easy to work with sometimes, but he called gandolfini a partner and a brother in ways he can t explain. he really was considered someone who could be difficult at times. that s right. but a lot of it stems from the fact that he was a real perfectionist. every actor who worked with him said he was an amazing actor. that s right. he loved his craft. he loved what he did. he wanted to put out the best product. i think that s why he was so hands on and so interested in what the show was developing into.
as we reported he died yesterday while vacationing in rome. last year, gandolfini spoke with abc s cynthia mcfadden as he and brad pitt were promoting a new film called killing them softly and here is some of the interview from our abc news vault. reporter: killing them softly, a mob movie. starring alongside him, the man who made tony soprano a household name, james gandolf i gandolfini. it s hard not to got one of you to sit down for an interview, but to get the two of you together. protection. is that what it is? for each other? yes. it is actually everyone else that needs protection from them. we have two guys. both actors play hit men hired to seek justice for the mob. i hear it took, what, 48 hours for you to sign on to this film. true? no, 30 minutes. 30 minutes. pitt readily signed on as both star and producer. gandolfini was a tougher sell.