Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Kristen Stewart finally speaks out on the death of Welcome To The Rileys co-star James Gandolfini

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Grieving: Kristen Stewart spoke out for the first time since her Welcome To The Riley's co-star James Gandolfini passed away, saying 'every memory flooded back and gutted me'


Kristen Stewart has remained quiet in the days since James Gandolfini passed away - until now.

The 23-year-old actress has finally broken her silence to speak about the tough-looking man with the gentle heart that she looked upon as not only a colleague but a friend.  
In the 2010 independent film Welcome To The Rileys, Kristen played a teenage stripper-prostitute to Gandolfini's grieving father of a deceased child who thought he could rescue her.
Grieving: Kristen Stewart spoke out for the first time since her Welcome To The Riley's co-star James Gandolfini passed away, saying 'every memory flooded back and gutted me'
Grieving: Kristen Stewart spoke out for the first time since her Welcome To The Riley's co-star James Gandolfini passed away, saying 'every memory flooded back and gutted me'

During the New Orleans shoot they became glowingly respectful of each other's talent.
When Kristen learned of his death - of a heart attack at age 51 while on holiday in Rome, Italy with his family - the memories were understandably overwhelming.

With his funeral in New York two days away, Kristen told Entertainment Weekly: 'When I heard of James’ passing I was in New Orleans, where we met shooting, and every memory flooded back and gutted me.
A great man: The 23-year-old star, who spent the better part of 2009 shooting the film with Gandolfini, called him 'immeasurable great'
A great man: The 23-year-old star, who spent the better part of 2009 shooting the film with Gandolfini, called him 'immeasurable great'

Father figure: In Welcome To The Rileys, Gandolfini played the father of a deceased child who tries to rescue a teenage stripper-prostitute portrayed by Kristen
Father figure: In Welcome To The Rileys, Gandolfini played the father of a deceased child who tries to rescue a teenage stripper-prostitute portrayed by Kristen

'I’ll hold that time near to me forever. He was immeasurably great. My heart goes out to his beloved family.'

In a 2009 interview with USA Today, Kristen struggled to get the right words out in describing her co-star.

'Jim was... the sh-t,' she said laughingly. 'He’s quiet. We got along well because we let it happen the way it’s supposed to. It was very organic, very cool.'
Don't call him Tony: Kristen previously said that Gandolfini disliked being constantly associated his mob boss character in The Sopranos
Don't call him Tony: Kristen previously said that Gandolfini disliked being constantly associated his mob boss character in The Sopranos

Everywhere they went during the shoot, fans called out 'Bella!' to Kristen and 'Tony!' to Gandolfini, so each could relate to people's inability to separate the stars from the infamous characters they played. 

'He has that. It’s so annoying,' Kristen added in that earlier interview. 'Everybody is like ‘Tonyyy! Yo, Tonnyy!’ I’m sitting there going, "Don’t do that... He will f–king deck you."'
Most touching was the fact that Gandolfini wrote a piece for Variety about Kristen's On the Road performance.
Good times: Kristen posed with Gandolfini and producers Scott Bloom and Giovanni Agnelli at the Welcome To The Rileys New York premiere in October 2010
Good times: Kristen posed with Gandolfini and producers Scott Bloom and Giovanni Agnelli at the Welcome To The Rileys New York premiere in October 2010

'Kristen Stewart is one of the mad ones. But mad in a beautiful way,' the actor wrote. 'And she is determined to make people mad. To show them she is more than Bella in Twilight. To show them she does burn, and smolder, and wants more out of her career and life. And smolder she does.'

On Wednesday night Broadway theatres will dim their marquee lights for one minute at 8 p.m. in honour of Gandolfini's memory.

The Sopranos star earned a Tony nomination for his role in God of Carnage, and he also had starred on Broadways in On the Waterfront in 1995 and A Streetcar Named Desire in 1992.

The funeral is to be held at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City on Thursday.
Last respects: A funeral for Gandolfini, pictured here in 2011 with his family, is set for Thursday at Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City
Last respects: A funeral for Gandolfini, pictured here in 2011 with his family, is set for Thursday at Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City

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