He was part of my life. I’ve known him for 21 years.
We met when we were doing “A Streetcar Named Desire” on Broadway. He played my husband, and the first day he walked in late to the rehearsal wearing his bike chain around him … I was like, “Oh no, here comes trouble.”
From that day on I would say it was love. Love in the sense of having a brother, another family member all of a sudden. I just suddenly had someone in the world who loved me. He loved so many, but my story is that we had a chemistry. We connected and had this brother and sister thing that continued through today.
We would bicker like siblings sometimes. I’d say, “You’re not the boss of me!” and he would laugh. One time when we were “friend fighting,” Alec Baldwin was there and he goes, “Oh no, here you two go again.”
The thing about James was that he was always there for me, even if I didn’t see him in a while. If anything happened he had your back. When “The Sopranos” started he invited me to the premiere and after I saw it I said, “James, this is amazing, I’m so proud of you, I’m so happy.”
And he said, “Well, maybe there’s a part for you.” He’s always thinking of other people.
A few years later when I was auditioning (for the show), he said, “Listen, I really want you to get this.” I said, “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. But if I don’t get the part will you lend me my rent money?”
He goes, “Of course.”
Aida Turturro played Janice Soprano, the sister of Tony Soprano, portrayed by James Gandolfini.