In his dad’s footsteps, Michael Gandolfini finds his own way

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Gandolfini’s face is thinner. His hair is thicker. His presence a little gentler. But there’s no mistaking it. He looks like his dad. It’s something he’s heard many times in his 22 years, especially recently. In “The Many Saints of Newark,” the “Sopranos” prequel, Michael plays a teenage Tony Soprano, inhabiting the mob boss character his father, James Gandolfini, made seminal. Playing the character many consider the greatest protagonist in television history was already a tall order. But stepping into his father’s shoes also meant getting to know his dad in a new way, while Gandolfini was — and still is — finding his own direction as a performer.