James Gandolfini had a regrettably short career as an actor, starting in the 1990s with a series of small yet memorable roles before achieving stardom on a certain HBO show that began airing towards that decade's end. He gave one of the best performances in TV history throughout much of the 2000s and then resumed film work with a series of interesting supporting and lead roles before his untimely passing at the age of 51 in 2013.