Drea de Matteo, who played the doomed Adriana on The Sopranos, is releasing a new book detailing her co-star James Gandolfini’s alleged struggles with drug abuse.
The 52-year-old actress, who launched an Onlyfans account last year, was reacting to Mark Kamine’s new memoir On Locations: Lessons Learned From My Life On Set With The Sopranos And In The Film Industry.
Kamine subsequently produced major films and television shows, including the Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle and the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning HBO series The White Lotus.
“It’s just kind of a money grab for that guy,” de Matteo said of Kamine’s book in an interview with Page six.
He added that Kamine’s description of Gandolfini, who died in 2013 at age 51 of a heart attack while visiting Rome, and his alleged drug use “was not accurate.”
The Sopranos star Drea de Matteo, 52, who played the doomed Adriana, criticized a new book by location manager Mark Kamine that details her co-star James Gandolfini’s alleged struggles with drug abuse, according to Page Six ; seen in 2022 in Hollywood
De Matteo called Kamine’s book a “money grab” for recounting how Gandolfini allegedly arrived late to set and had difficulty remembering his lines after a night out in Atlantic City; seen in 2006
In one section of his book, Kamine recalls the filming of a season five episode of The Sopranos that was canceled after Gandolfini reportedly arrived late to the set following a night of partying in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
He wrote that the actor was “cursing through his half-learned lines, doing take after take, drinking coffee and bottles of water, alternately shy and rude, as he always is when he screws up.”
Kamin also claims that as Gandolfini became “increasingly unreliable,” HBO added a clause during the next negotiation of his contract that would make him “responsible for the day-of shooting costs if he misses work due to over-consumption.” .
De Matteo defended her late friend’s character and also criticized Kamine for detailing alleged incidents that Gandolfini could no longer defend herself against.
The Sons Of Anarchy actress described the actor, who played series star Tony Soprano, as a “truly amazing person” and “so much more than what (Kamine) was writing about.”
“Jim was an angel,” he added, “and I guess because he was an angel, you know, he’s not here.”
She also noted that she was “very close to Jim’s wife, his widow and his daughter.”
It is unclear whether De Matteo had read Kamine’s book, which was published on February 6, before criticizing it.
Kamine refrained from responding to his former colleague’s criticism in response to the publication.
“I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, whether they’ve read the book or not,” he said.
Gandolfini, who played mob boss Tony Soprano, died in 2013 at age 51 of a heart attack while visiting Rome; photographed in 2013 in New York
De Matteo said Kamine’s description of Gandolfini was “not accurate” and noted that she was “close” with the late actor’s family; Gandolfini and de Matteo photographed on The Sopranos
De Matteo claimed that the timing of the book’s release, just weeks after the show’s 25th anniversary, was suspicious. “Go and get paid like that, the Italians don’t like that,” he said; seen in 2019
De Matteo also complained about the timing of Kamine’s book, as it was released weeks after the show marked its 25th anniversary.
“Go and get paid like this, Italians don’t like that,” he continued. ‘We don’t go crazy like that.’
The actress also flashed her middle finger to emphasize her feelings during the interview, according to Page Six.
Last year, de Matteo revealed she had launched a racy Onlyfans account, although she claimed the only reason she started online modeling was because her refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19 had cost her acting jobs.