James Gandolfini's body double bombarded with sick tabloid calls

James Gandolfini's body double has been left disgusted after receiving a flood of calls from tabloid journalists offering him big bucks to pose as the tragic actor in a casket.

The Sopranos star suffered a fatal heart attack in Italy on 19 June (13) and he was remembered by friends, family and fans at a private wake in New Jersey on Wednesday (26Jun13) and a funeral service in New York on Thursday (27Jun13).

Since Gandolfini died overseas and both memorials were closed to photographers, news outlets have been desperately trying to obtain last images of the 51 year old, and his stunt double Donald Metzger reveals they have even resorted to bribing him with serious cash to recreate some of the actor's final moments.

He tells the New York Daily News, "Jimmy was a wonderful guy. His death was upsetting... Right after he died, I started getting sick calls. One guy asked if I would pose as Jimmy in a casket. I said absolutely not. Another guy, from some kind of tabloid show or something, asked if I would do a recreation of him having a heart attack. I slammed down the phone."