James Gandolfini was ‘hungover’ when he shot his classic Sopranos beatdown scene

‘He scared the living s*** out of me’

James Gandolfini performed one of the most iconic scenes from The Sopranos while he was hungover, his co-star Robert Patrick has claimed.

Appearing on the Talking Sopranos podcast, Patrick, who played degenerate gambler Davey Scatino, said the first time he met Gandolfini, he purposely riled him up.

“You know the scene where you come to get your money, you better bring your f****** a-game,’” Patrick recalled saying.

“And he looked at me said, ‘Oh, I’ll bring my f****** a-game.’”

When they later met to film the episode, Gandolfini told Patrick: “I’m hungover, let’s do this f***ing scene.”

Patrick said the late actor nailed his performance in a single take, despite his fragile state.

The actor who rose to fame in Terminator 2: Judgement Day went on to reveal that Gandolfini “scared the living s***” out of him but that it was a “fantastic experience”.

Patrick appeared in three episodes across season two of The Sopranos and becomes indebted to the titular crime boss.

Gandolfini in ‘The Sopranos’ (HBO)

The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel movie to the TV show is due to be released on 1 October.

In the film, a young Tony Soprano will be played by James Gandolfini’s son, Michael. His stepmother said it was “surreal” to see play the same role as his late father.

Gandolfini died in 2013 at the age of 51.