James Gandolfini and Tony Sirico of the Emmy award-winning HBO drama "The Sopranos" are on a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) tour to "meet and greet" troops serving in the Persian Gulf region. They are signing autographs, posing for pictures, visiting job posts and watching movies with the troops. Starring as series lead Tony Soprano, James Gandolfini began acting in New York theater and made his Broadway debut in 1992 alongside Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange in "A Streetcar Named Desire." A New Jersey native, Gandolfini has more than 20 movies to his credit and has appeared in "The Mexican," "Eight Millimeter," "A Civil Action," "Get Shorty" and "True Romance." Most recently, he completed filming "Romance & Cigarettes," a feature film directed by John Turturro, with Joel and Ethan Coen producing. Gandolfini also appeared with USO tour veteran Ben Affleck in Mike Mitchell's "Surviving Christmas."
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Tony Sirico plays superstitious and hot- tempered Paulie Walnuts on the popular drama. Before landing the role on "The Sopranos," Sirico appeared on several television shows including "Cosby," "Miami Vice," "Kojak" and "Baretta." Also familiar to film fans, he has appeared in "Mickey Blue Eyes," "It Had To Be You," "Mighty Aphrodite," "Bullets Over Broadway" and "Goodfellas," as well as 30 other feature films. This trip begins the USO/AFE holiday tradition of bringing celebrities to the "front lines" of combat activities. Several of today's top talents have traveled into the region so far this year, including Wayne Newton, Rob Schneider, Neal McCoy, Tom Green, Henry Rollins, Toby Keith, and 50 Cent and G-Unit. Currently, the USO is partnering with AFE on more than a dozen holiday tours scheduled to visit troops around the globe. For 63 years, the USO (United Service Organizations) has brought a touch of home to America's military personnel. The USO is a congressionally chartered, nonprofit organization and is not a government agency. |