Michael Gandolfini was 13 years old, having just graduated from the eighth grade, when he found his father, James Gandolfini, collapsed in a hotel bathroom on June 19, 2013. They were in Rome, where the actor had planned to attend a film festival.

When news emerged that Gandolfini had died from a heart attack, “Sopranos” fans the world over mourned the actor who had mesmerized audiences as North Jersey Mafia boss Tony Soprano.

In New Jersey, they remembered Gandolfini, 51, at Holsten’s in Bloomfield, the ice cream parlor where his character was last seen in the 2007 series finale, just before the iconic cut to black.

Six years after his father’s death, Michael Gandolfini, now 19, has wrapped production on “The Many Saints of Newark," the “Sopranos” prequel film co-written and produced by series creator David Chase.

In the film, due out in September 2020, Gandolfini plays a young Tony Soprano. The movie is partially set in 1967, during the Newark riots.

On Wednesday, June 19, the day of James Gandolfini’s death in 2013, the younger Gandolfini dedicated a post on Instagram to his father. In the post, he shared a photo from when he was a toddler sitting on his father’s shoulders.

“6 years is too long,” Gandolfini said. “Every year without you is. But I know you’re around. Miss you. More than anything. In this particular second it’s your laugh that I miss most. I love you so so much. We celebrate you today. Working hard to make you proud, I know you are, but I’ll never stop working at it. Love you dad.”

James Gandolfini, who grew up in Park Ridge and lived in Tewksbury, won three best actor Emmys for playing Tony Soprano.

Michael Gandolfini is the son of Gandolfini and his first wife, Marcy Wudarski. His father was also survived by his second wife, Deborah Lin, and their daughter, Liliana.

In May, the younger Gandolfini, who also plays Joey Dwyer in the HBO series “The Deuce," filmed scenes for “The Many Saints of Newark" in at Holsten’s in Bloomfield (the movie also filmed in Newark and Paterson).

Gandolfini also shared behind-the-scenes photos from the making of the film showing members of the crew as well as director Alan Taylor and co-star Alessandro Nivola. The actor plays Dickie Moltisanti, a mentor to young Tony in the film (and cousin to his future wife, Carmela).

“Cheers to the movie we made. With the beautiful people I love," Gandolfini said on Instagram Wednesday. He tagged the post, which included a photo of a “Many Saints of Newark” T-shirt, with the location “Newark, New Jersey."

“Thank you to everyone who cared and put so much love into your job,” he continued. "There is no movie without these people. A movie is as good as the crew and this crew was unreal. They made every day so fun. I can never thank you enough. I am BEYOND honored to call everyone of them my coworkers #baddaboom.”

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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