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'Sopranos' Star Reveals James Gandolfini's Sweet Gesture She Discovered Only After His Death
On a recent episode of Justin Long's Life is Short podcast, Jamie-Lynn Sigler revealed she discovered a sweet gesture by her Sopranos co-star James Gandolfini only after his death.
Sigler said Gandolfini, who played her father on the HBO hit, was the first person on set she told about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, gushing that he was nothing but supportive.
It wasn't until after his death from a heart attack in 2013, though, that Sigler learned he had also been "constantly" donating to MS organizations.
She told the host about the moment Gandolfini learned of her MS diagnosis.
“He pulled me aside one day and he said, ‘Jamie, what is going on?’”
“I just fell in a puddle in his arms. And I was just like, ‘I'm so scared, but I have MS, and I don't know how to tell anybody.’"
"And he's like, ‘Your secret's safe with me.’”
Sigler then revealed she found out about the donations after his death.
“I found out after his death that he donated to MS organizations constantly for me."
You can listen to the clip below.
People on social media were blown away by Gandolfini's quiet support for Sigler.
Others commented on the duo's special offscreen relationship.
Elsewhere in the podcast, Sigler only had kind words for Gandolfini and his incredible work ethic.
“I've never seen an actor work harder than Jim Gandolfini ever in my life, ever in my life."
“He spent every Sunday learning all of his stuff for the entire week.”
She also opened up about difficulties she faced filming season 5 of the series. Sigler had not yet told anyone else about the diagnosis and she was also going through a divorce.
“I was going through a divorce, and I wasn't telling anybody about it."
“And the MS was really starting to affect me, like, for instance, it affects your bladder. And I have to pee."
"And in the middle of a take, I'd be like, ‘I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I have to pee.’"
"And they'd be like, ‘What the f**k is wrong with her?’”
Sigler added:
“Nobody asked me what was wrong."
"I can’t blame anyone. Except Jim [asked].”
The actor now hosts the MeSsy podcastwith Christina Applegate, who also has MS.
She told PEOPLEin March:
“We’re sharing the deepest parts of ourselves — and I’m somebody that tried not to do that for a long time, so this has been healing.”