Julia Louis-Dreyfus remembers ‘Enough Said’ costar James Gandolfini

Julia Louis-Dreyfus had never met James Gandolfini before being cast opposite him in “Enough Said,� a comedy that will premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival before arriving in theaters Sept. 20.

“I liked him right away,� Louis-Dreyfus says of Gandolfini, who died in June at age 51 from a heart attack. “What was so fascinating to me immediately was that he’s a very mild, dear, thoughtful fellow, very much like the character he plays in the film. He isn’t like Tony Soprano at all, even though he sure looks like Tony Soprano.�

Talking about Gandolfini, Louis-Dreyfus never strays from the present tense. She still has a difficult time wrapping her mind around his unexpected death.

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“It was just brutal, just brutal,� she says quietly, “and very, very sad.�

In “Enough Said,� Louis-Dreyfus plays Eva, a recently divorced mother facing an empty nest with her daughter about to leave for college. Eva meets a sweet man (Gandolfini) in the same predicament and a romance blossoms -- until she discovers that this man is the hated former husband of a new friend.

Nicole Holofcener (“Please Give,� “Lovely & Amazing�) wrote and directed the movie, which was shot in Los Angeles in August and September 2012.

“Jim was so nervous,� Louis-Dreyfus says, “because it was outside his comfort zone in a way. But he’s extraordinary in it. I’m so happy people are going to see this aspect of him. It’s a gorgeous performance.�

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