James Gandolfini threw ‘tantrum’ over Sopranos masturbation scene that was later edited out

Actor apparently pushed back on a regular basis against scenes he didn’t like

James Gandolfini once threw a “tantrum” over filming a masturbation scene in The Sopranos, it has been claimed.

According to an excerpt from James Andrew Miller’s new book – Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers – a scene involved the late actor’s character Tony Soprano running to a gas station toilet to masturbate.

In the book, Miller reveals that Gandolfini threw a “tantrum” before shooting the scene, but eventually got it done as per the script.

In the end, the scene in question didn’t make the cut of the final episode, and was edited out.

“There were … fitful bouts of disruptive incredulousness as he reacted to certain scripts he was handed,” Miller wrote in an excerpt published byNew York Magazine.

“Gandolfini … would sometimes balk at a particular scene and instead of asking [showrunner David] Chase, ‘Do I have to do this?’ he would wonder out loud, ‘What the f*** is this?’ and then declare flatly, ‘I’m not doing it.’”

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in ‘The Sopranos' (HBO)

The Sopranos ran from 1999 to 2007. The show followed Tony Soprano, an Italian-American mafia boss based in New Jersey, as he struggles to manage his family and criminal life while discussing his issues with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi.

Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Golden Globe Award for his work on the show, which is widely regarded as being among the greatest of all time.

Earlier this month, Gandolfini’s son Michael starred in The Many Saints of Newark, the feature-length prequel to The Sopranos.

According to the synopsis, the film looks at Young Anthony Soprano growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark’s history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters start to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family.

You can read The Independent’s four-star review of The Many Saints of Newark here.