James Gandolfini’s final movie, The Drop, has premiered at this year’s Toronto Film Festival.
The Drop sees James Gandolfini playing a Brooklyn bar owner who facilitates the criminal underworld’s money-laundering.
James Gandolfini died in June 2013 after suffering a heart attack, shortly after shooting the film.
Co-star Tom Hardy paid tribute to James Gandolfini on the red carpet, saying he was “very grateful to have the privilege of working with him”.
“There’s very few people who have a very specific ability and talent and he’s a brilliant actor,” he told reporters.
The Drop is based on the short story Animal Rescue by author Dennis Lehane, who also wrote previous crime novels Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River.
Dennis Lehane, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, said that when James Gandolfini was cast he wanted to include more dialogue “because of how [he] can turn street speech into a symphony”.
James Gandolfini’s ex-wife Marcy attended the premiere along with their 14-year-old son Michael, who said he was “really proud” of his father.
“He loved acting. He loved being an actor. I know how hard he worked and I love how hard he worked,” Michael Gandolfini said.
“I want the world and everyone just to know that he was more than just an actor.
“He didn’t want to be Tony Soprano; he wanted to go on and push himself more, try to get harder, get different.”
Another James Gandolfini film released after his death, the romantic comedy Enough Said co-starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, also premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year.
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