James Gandolfini Biography Peels Back the Curtain on His Working Relationship With Denzel Washington

Yahoo

03-05-2025

A recently released biography following the life of the late James Gandolfini suggests that he and Denzel Washington might have had some tension throughout their working relationship — or did they?
A report from the set of the 1995 film Crimson Tide, published in Premiere magazine at the time, claimed that Washington 'storm[ed] over' to director Tony Scott and said something to the effect of not working with Gandolfini after one particular scene. The scene had Gandolfini grabbing Washington by the collar. (Washington played Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter opposite Gandolfini's Lieutenant Bobby Dougherty in the film.)
Rocky Carroll, who also appeared in the movie, recalled the apparent tension in Jason Bailey's Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend, released on Tuesday, April 29.
'It got really heated really fast,' Carroll recalled in the book, recalling Gandolfini saying he was just 'doing [his] job.'
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Gandolfini's former manager Mark Armstrong admitted that Gandolfini 'did get a little aggressive, more aggressive than I think Denzel was ready for,' which caused 'friction' between the two stars.
The book revealed that Gandolfini thought he was going to get fired from the film. Spoiler alert, he was not. In fact, the two ended up becoming friends.
Bailey's book published a portion of the Premiere magazine report, which claimed that Gandolfini and Washington started to 'scuffle vigorously' during a separate on-set incident before they 'burst into laughter.'
Washington, at the time, stated that they 'fooled everybody' on set.
Armstrong noted in Bailey's biography that there was a 'respect' between the two actors, especially after Gandolfini apologized for the initial interaction.
'Literally immediately after that, they started a great friendship,' Armstrong wrote. 'And Jim had a ton of respect for him.'
Bailey wrote that the situation on the Crimson Tide set was 'genuinely heated' but was turned down by the two stars.
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Gandolfini and Washington went on to star in two other movies together, Fallen (1998) and The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009).
Bailey's Gandolfini biography detailed the late star's life from his New Jersey upbringing to The Sopranos fame — and, yes, there are multiple chapters on the famed HBO show. Gandolfini played the titular role of Tony Soprano from 1999 to 2007, and the biography peels back the curtain on how the actor apparently felt about being widely known for that role. The book also looks at the ups and downs in the actor's life prior to his death.
Gandolfini died from a heart attack at age 51 in June 2013.
Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend is out now.