James [Gandolfini] was incredible. The anniversary of his passing was just a couple of weeks ago, and ironically, it coincided with the anniversary of my own father’s passing. But he was one of those guys, man. I learned a lot from him about acting. He was so present, whether he was on camera or off camera.

A lot of times, actors, when they’re off camera, they use that opportunity to not give as much; or they just become a little bit lazy. But he was so present. It was like he had no awareness that we were actually rolling, and he didn’t want to know what the shot was. He did all of these little things to try to help himself stay in the moment constantly.




There was a scene in which we had to either chew on mushrooms or swallow something [peyote]. I’m not sure exactly what they were, but he had the prop guys prepare these little bits of mushrooms that were cut up. And he had them put a lot of pepper on them because he wanted to have a reaction the moment the mushrooms hit his mouth.

So he taught me these little nuances that no one had ever shown me before, and he was an incredible influence in my life. He was literally larger than life. He made an impact on me, and even though I only did one episode, that will last a lifetime.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/sex-life-sarah-shahi-black-adam-1234978403/

Sarah Shahi Reveals James Gandolfini was One of the Best Kisses she’s Ever Had
by Marina Watts
June 22, 2026


Sarah Shahi is ready to kiss and tell. The "Sex/Life" and "Paradise" actress revealed that "The Sopranos" star James Gandolfini was one of the best kisses she ever had.

Shahi appeared in the sixth season's Emmy-winning episode titled "Kennedy and Heidi" as Sonya, Christopher Moltisanti's mistress and subsequently Tony Soprano's paramour.




"Tony goes to Vegas to tell the girl that he was messing with that Christopher died and I was the girl. I was a Vegas showgirl [and] college student," Shahi said, setting the scene for hosts Lauryn and Michael Bosstick on the June 18 episode of their podcast The Bossticks.

"And did you get to make out with him?" Lauryn asked. "Yes, we had a full-on sex scene," Shahi confirmed. "One of the best, I have to say, kisses I’ve ever had."

"I was on top of him and then we went to the desert and smoked peyote," the actress said. "I remember thinking to myself, like how am I going to get turned on by this 47-year-old large balding man? Like, there's nothing. How is this going to work for me? But oh boy did it work for me."




When asked what he was like, Shahi said, "He's incredible. He was incredible. He was a very troubled man, but the crew loved him."

Shahi gave an example, saying that the first day of shooting the episode, Gandolfini did not show up. "I went back to my hotel room and he sent me a dozen roses with a note saying like, 'Sorry about today. Don't be nervous cuz I suck. Love, the fat man.'"



When Shahi finally met him, she described the late actor as "larger than life." "He's like, 'You get the flowers?' and me thinking, you know, I'm a badass and trying to keep up with this energy."

"I was like, 'Yeah, what's with that?' Like, 'Next time, send me something I can actually take back with me, like, Jimmy Chu, size seven.' And again, I was just trying to match his energy."

When she returned to her hotel room that night, those exact shoes were waiting for her.

https://ew.com/sarah-shahi-james-gandolfini-best-kisses-12004413