so be clear, he was not tony sparano in real life. was a very -- person very interested in the world. i think that was just a cause that was near and dear to him. >> krista smith, you say you knew james gandolfini early in his career. how did he change as his career became more successful and then superstar? >> well, i think that the experience that i knew with him, he's a very, very loyal guy. he had the same amount of friends that he had with him when he wasn't famous and when he was famous. he didn't change and move on to a different statosphere. i have to say the one thing he was definitely an actor's actor. every time i'm interviewing actors, he was always mentioned. people had a tremendous amount of respect for him, for his sheer talent. also his big personality, but his gentleness and humor. he was very well liked. >> malena, what surprised you? you can look at the body of work and go to broadway, look at the television shows, watch all "the sopranos" you want. what did you think after your interviews, that was a surprise? >> h

he was a very cut-throat killer as tony sparano. did he think at all that maybe the audience won't find me credible. the audience will have trouble digesting me in a different role? well, i think he came in with expectations of playing in a certain way that wasn't maybe too far away from tony sparano, and maybe that had become his comfort zone, his comfort zone possibly. but each day in rehearsals i would implicate to him he was in the area more out of control, more wonderful and more child-like and he would chuckle. he said, you really want me to do that? he would chuckle. he had great comic instincts but he realized that the audience would get a kick, i think, out of seeing him do these other things and showing that other side, but it was -- he didn't find it easy to get there, and so it was a real act of courage. i can't emphasize that enough. he -- he pleaded with me on one occasion to be allowed to leave the show when we were still in rehearsals and he thought he wouldn't be able to just live up to the rest of the company, and

larry, when he went from being a very good, don't get me wrong character actor to a superstar as tony sparano, what did that mean to him? >> well, he was very appreciative of it, but he always remained, john, a character actor. he did a successful broadway play, he re-created the role in

he's always watching tony sparano, loves him. when you say, larry, you know, just the sense of this person, that he was -- that he was -- he didn't care about entourages and all the riggermarole of being famous. >> he had none of that at all. if he was in your studio tonight at cnn, he would have hung around with you. you would have had laughs with him, and we would have probably gone out with you after the show. that's the kind of guy he was. he was really unaffected. he enjoyed the moment, like when the guy bought the cruise, sure, i'll go. >> like that's cool, i'm going to do it. and larry, i guess your final memory, if you had to describe him in a few words, what would you say? >> he was a genuine good guy. as strong an actor as he was, as gentle a person as he was, he was -- you know, you will not see his likes again. >> and larry, i know i said that was the last question, but i wanted to follow up. when you talk about him being a strong actor, i keep focusing on "the sopranos" because that's what i saw. but you were talking

his performance as tony sparano, it changed television. television changed dramatically because of this and really, i think the center point of dramatic acting shifted from movies to television because of him. i mean, he just changed the way people regard television and actors came to television because they could perform at this level after watching him. >> what was interesting about him? i met him a couple times, he was pretty shy, actually, when you met him in the flesh, very modest, very reserved in many ways as you hinted there in terms of interviews but very, very different to the character he played in "the sopranos, and became this theater force. the character tony sparano in television. >> i think at the top because i think television forever was consumed with creating a lead character who would be in likable, and i think he made him -- he made this incredibly scary guy, who in many ways, extremely likable at the same time. it was a really knew answer -- nuanced performance and fully fleshed out. i mean, you know, he had tremendou

tony sparano may be headed there. time warner is teaming up with china media capital, looking for invesmentes and media partnerships. it will open new platforms and markets for content. >>> creating closer business and economic ties between the u.s. and china will be one of the topics president obama will discuss with china's president xi when they meet tomorrow in california. our guest tonight says a lot is riding on the two-day meeting and could make a fresh start in the relationship between the u.s. and china. you know, bonnie, there has been such a buildup about this meeting of people saying it's a crucial meeting for the u.s. and china. what are the risks and opportunities to have this meeting? what can we expect to come out of it? >> this is indeed a very important meeting. i think there are real opportunities for the two leaders to express their concerns directly to each other, their expectations to try and identify some areas where they can cooperate in ways that they can benefit both of their country's econom

his performance as tony sparano gave him the role of a lifetime, as rob lowe just tweeted, james gandolfinie the greatest performance in the history of television. his death at just 51 is stunning news for millions of fans. stay with cnn for the latest on this breaking story. we leave you with that final scene of "the sopranos." it is, like james gandolfini, unforgettable. ♪ >>> the breaking news tonight is sad news. james gandolfini, one of america's best actors and the man who brought america's best known fictional gangster to life, has died. he was in rome when he suffered what is believed to be a heart attack. gandolfini, just 51, went from character actor to superstar. david chase had this to say. he was a genius. anyone that saw him knows that. he is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. a great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes. we'll be talking tonight to the people who knew him, who admired his work and watched him become a folk hero in the garden state and around the world. let's begin with larry king, who joins us by phone, and dr. sanjay gupta. dr. gupta, i