10 best Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows that prove he’s got his father's talent

The list of Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows might not be an extensive one, as the actor has just begun his career. However, with just a handful of years in the industry, it looks like Gandolfini is ready to follow in the legacy of his father, James Gandolfini, who is popular for his iconic portrayal of Tony Soprano in the acclaimed HBO series, The Sopranos.

In a 2019 ET interview, Gandolfini shared that his father did not want him to be an actor; he would rather have him be in sports or become a director, as they had more power. Hence, the decision was difficult for him, but in the end, he followed his heart and chose the profession that he liked the most and began auditioning.

The list of Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows consists of many popular and critically acclaimed projects that show the acting range of the 25-year-old actor through diverse roles that he has played.

In this article, we have listed 10 such Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows that are proof that he's got his father's talent.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer’s opinion. Reader discretion is advised.

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10 best Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows

10) Ocean's 8

Ocean’s 8 was an important film in Gandolfini’s career, as it was his major film debut and has to be on the list of Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows. It revolves around Sandra Bullock’s Debbie, who plans a heist by gathering several women to help her achieve the goal.

Even though it was a minor role as a busboy for Gandolfini, the film is one of those important ones that opened the big doors of the Hollywood industry to the young actor.

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9) Beau Is Afraid

Directed by Ari Aster, who is famous for films such as Midsommar and Hereditary, Beau Is Afraid stars Joaquin Phoenix as Beau and his tumultuous journey back to his mother. While on the run, Beau meets a travelling group of actors and watches a play in which an angel narrates the story of the life of a man.

Beau imagines himself as the man who is living a normal life with three of his sons. One of those sons is played by Michael Gandolfini. The play is one of the turning points in the movie and the last stretch before Beau gets to meet his mother.

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8) Cherry

Another great addition to the list of Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows would be the 2021 movie, Cherry, which is based on Nico Walker’s book and follows Tom Holland’s Cherry, who becomes a drug addict after suffering from PTSD due to the intense war. As there were no opportunities for better employment and a recent heartbreak, Holland’s Cherry enlisted in the Army. Gandolfini plays Courin Joe, a friend and neighbor of Cherry who also joins the Marines due to not being able to get a good job.

The film follows these war veterans when they come back from the war but are unable to mentally let go of the horrors that they have seen or gone through during the war. Cousin Joe and Cherry both find it difficult to get accustomed to life after coming back, the latter of whom eventually becomes a drug addict.

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7) Warfare

This intense war drama is another great addition to Michael Gandolfini's movies and TV shows. Based on Ray Mendoza’s experience in the Iraq War, this film follows a group of Navy SEALs on an intense mission during the battle of Ramadi.

In this film, Gandolfini plays LT McDonald, who works as an officer from the Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) and a Fire Support Officer helping in communicating with the fire support and setting the targets.

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6) Extrapolations

Apple TV’s Extrapolations is a new take on the theme of the deterioration of our planet through an anthology series where it is depicted how climate change has been too frequent and the people have become accustomed to living with this frequently changing climate.

Extrapolations is one of the more recent additions to the list of Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows, where the actor played the role of Rowan Chopin, who deeply believes that geoengineering might save the planet, as taught by his father, Jonathan Chopin, who does not believe in it anymore. In the episode titled 2059 Part I: Face of God, Gandolfini’s Rowan helps his ex-stepmother, Indira Verma’s Gita Mishra, who threatens to release calcium chloride all over the place in order to end the climate change issue by using her planes.

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5) The Deuce

In the popular series, The Deuce, Michael played a recurring role as Joey Dwyer in Seasons 1 and 2, son of one of the main characters of the show, Bobby Dwyer, hence making it one of the exciting additions to the Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows list.

The series delves into the lives of James Franco’s twin roles, Frankie and Vincent Martino, who begin working for the Mafia, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Eileen Merrell, who fortunately escapes the violence of 1960s and 70s New York and enters the legal p*rn industry.

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4) The Offer

Paramount Plus’s The Offer dramatizes the events revolving around the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s critically acclaimed movie, The Godfather, a film based on the life of an Italian-American mafia.

By joining the series, Gandolfini hit it close to home, as his father played a similar role in The Sopranos. He plays Andy Calhoun in the miniseries, a businessman who is trying to buy Paramount Studios. The limited series was a hit and is one of the best in the Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows list.

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3) Bob Marley: One Love

This 2024 film dramatizes the life and times of Bob Marley, the iconic reggae artist of the late 20th century. The film especially focused on Marley’s rise to fame and eventual death. It also recounts the events around the inception of one of Marley’s greatest albums, Exodus.

Gandolfini plays the role of Howard Bloom, a music publicist who doesn't understand why Marley's image can't be on the album cover of Exodus. The role is based on the real-life Howard Bloom, who handled Marley during the Uprising Tour. By playing a role based on a real person, Gandolfini unlocked another feat in his ever-growing acting career, and hence, Bob Marley: One Love needs to be mentioned in the best Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows list.

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2) The Many Saints of Newark

The Many Saints of Newark is one of the important additions to the list of Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows, as he reprises his father, the late James Gandolfini’s iconic role of Tony Soprano.

Recounting the events that took place before the HBO series, The Sopranos, Michael plays a teenage Tony who finds himself in the middle of gang wars and riots in 1960s New Jersey. Gandolfini, as a young Tony, depicts the emotions of melancholy of growing up in a troubling era with a difficult childhood, which will then shape his character that we saw in the HBO series.

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1) Daredevil: Born Again

The character of Daniel Blake from Daredevil: Born Again might be one of Gandolfini’s most popular roles so far and also one of the best in the list of Michael Gandolfini movies and TV shows.

In Marvel’s show, Gandolfini’s Blake is a young and naive man who believes too much in Fisk and works for his mayoral campaign. After Fisk’s win, he is seen as working as an advisor in the mayoral office and continues to have faith in Fisk and has become closer to Fisk, turning out to be a protégé. The overenthusiastic Fisk fan has many times professed his admiration for Vincent D'Onofrio’s character but might not have an idea of what he was putting himself into, as he hasn’t seen the full extent of the wrath that Fisk/Kingpin is capable of causing.

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